Q'ojom

El tambor (q'ojom) se toca frecuentamente con la flauta (su') en los bailes del Popol Wuj. Típicamente se llama q'ojom pero cabe señalar un momento en el cual los autores k'iche' llaman "chamcham" al sonido. Conforme al lingüista k'iche' Sam Colop (2008: 186n306), a quien cita al diccionario kaqchikel del padre Tomás de Coto, "puede interpretarse como un pequeño tambor, porque es improbable que sea 'tambor' en virtud que antiguamente la palabra para este instrumento era q'ojom que ahora se utiliza para decir marimba." Para mayores informaciones sobre el rol de la música y la danza en el Popol Wuj, véase McGahren (2022), citado a la derecha.

Drums (q'ojom) are frequently played alongside flutes (su') in the dances mentioned in the Popol Wuj. The K'iche' authors typically use the term q'ojom to refer to these drums, but once they call them "chamcham," perhaps one of the many instances of onomatopeia in the text. According to K'iche' linguist Sam Colop (2008:186n306), who cites the colonial-era dictionary of friar Tomás de Coto, chamcham can be interpreted as a "small drum," although it would produce a slightly different sound than that of the larger drums mentioned elsewhere in the story. For more information on the role of music and dance in the Popol Wuj, see McGahren (2022), cited at right.