Ancient Music: Origins, Magic, and Therapeutic Power
The Dawn of Civilization and Music
People are freed from the obligation to produce food. This situation occurs mainly in big cities, but these developments are not the same everywhere. Include:
- Mesopotamia: the Tigris and Euphrates valleys.
- China: Hoan area-Ho (Yellow River)
- Egypt: Nile alluvial valleys
- India: the Indus and its tributaries.
During this period, with polished stone tools, they can build sound tuned to a given height, a requirement for a musical civilization.
The first instruments of membranes and strings appear, and then the first civilizations use metals, which may produce better tools with these materials, expanding the possibilities and thereby determining the evolution of music.
Sound and Magic
Primitive man must have thought that the sounds of nature were magic.
They considered sound as the voice of the gods and believed they could communicate with them through music.
So, music took on a magical or religious nature in specific places and times.
In some places on Earth, some powers have gone further still, as:
- In the philosophical concepts that derive from the Persian and Hindu cosmogony, the universe comes from an acoustic substance (initial sound), and this became the subject but not totally, also retaining some of the sound.
- The Egyptians believed that the voice of the god Thoth created the world, and this had four gods of equal power and organized the world.
- The Gospel of John begins with these words: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
As these three versions are geographically different, all three talk about sound as the beginning of all things.
Another belief was that each person had his secret song, so in rites of magic cures, the healer should find it to gain power over the evil of the patient. Maybe this secret song is related to the timbre of the voice of man. Thus, imitating the voice acquired power over her.
In India, to make it rain, they play a trumpet shell, believing that this should attract the rainwater.
Also, in other tribes, they imitate the sound that would lead to attracting the desired effect.
In all known civilizations, music is considered of divine origin, and Jacques Chailley catalogs it as the only God particle captured by man.
Dance and Music
Instinctively, primitive man moved while producing sounds.
It is assumed that the songs and sounds that accompanied the dance were assigned magical properties (promote hunting, attract water, fertilization…).
Through music and dance, man expected to get what he wanted and, in turn, made him communicate with supernatural forces, thus being able to communicate with the gods.
Therapeutic Effects of Music: The Sorcerer
Since ancient times, music was attributed to therapeutic effects, since the concept of disease was very different from today, and it was believed that the person was possessed by evil spirits.
The cure was in charge of the sorcerer, who was supposed to know the magic formulas. In the ceremonies, music and dance were very important. Herbs were also used because it was believed that a spirit lived on welfare, but these were effective only together with the appropriate song.
The sorcerer was respected and feared for his knowledge of magic. He was present at important occasions (birth, death…). His music was not to please, only to influence the spirit of evil.
Perhaps the magician could hypnotize people or was a madman, but had to be very sensitive to music.
In ancient times, the concept of illness was gradually changing, but thinking that this was a punishment from the gods for any misconduct, so it had to atone for healing.
In the Christian era, and still believed by some people, believe that invoking God or the Virgin could be cured. It has been linked to several saints with certain diseases (San Lazaro to cure leprosy, plague San Sebastian…).