Among the chordophones used by the peoples of northern Mexico, the tlahuitol, or musical bow, stands out. The instrument consists of a bow (approximately one meter in length) and a gourd that functions as an external resonating chamber. The bow carries a string stretched at the ends and at the center, producing two different tones. The musician uses two drumsticks as beaters; in the case of the Wixaritari, the ethnographer Carl Lumholtz describes the use of two arrows.
The tlahuitol accompanies the celebrations known as mitote, nocturnal rituals performed by the groups of the Gran Nayar (Mexicaneros, O'dam [Tepehuanes], Náayari [Coras], and Wixaritari [Huichols]) for propitiatory purposes, mostly agricultural. The shamans, or “patio singers,” as the Náayari (Cora) call them, are the only ones authorized to play the bow, accompanying it with songs referring to mythological narratives or to petitions directed to sacred entities. In some O'dam (Tepehuán) mitotes, a flute and a small double-headed drum are also added.
To play it, the singer must sit down and place his foot on the gourd; the string is struck with the drumsticks or arrows, producing a sound that has been likened to that of the teponaztli. Lumholtz mentions that the sound of the bow is analogous to that of the violoncello or a tambora. The Wixaritari (Huichols) say that Tsitsikame, god of honey, played the bow and sang; after dying a violent death, his eyes were transformed into bees. Today, the sound of that mythical bow resonates in the buzzing of those insects.
Although the myth explains the ancient presence of the instrument among the Wixaritari, different authors have debated whether the bow predates the conquest or was introduced by African populations, perhaps displacing pre-Hispanic instruments such as the teponaztlis. Although the question remains unresolved, there is agreement regarding the ritual importance of the musical bow among several groups of the Sierra Madre Occidental, as well as its presence among California groups.