ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Schaeffner examines the role instruments play in religion and magic: to ward off evil spirits, or on the contrary (in the case of bells), to summon the faithful. This calls for an analysis of the symbolism of materials and forms, including the zoomorphic or anthropomorphic character of many instruments. After an analysis of the importance of dance in instrument genealogy, this chapter and the previous one on dance and play (where magic is also introduced), act as a kind of second section of Origine, dominated by ethnological observations. The idea of instruments as signs is clearly a crucial dimension of Schaeffner’s view of them, and we could even call the idea semiological: “Mute musical instruments, in fact, have a twofold significance. Firstly, they are signs. Their raw materials, their outward shape, the fact that they ‘contain’ sound, or could do so (in the case of votive instruments), are all linked to a whole complex of human beliefs, customs, and needs, which they eloquently translate. Instruments are situated at the bustling intersection of art, science, and ritual.”
