Chamcham

Chamcham es el segundo instrumento otorgado a los líderes k'iche' por Nakxit en señal de su poder y autoridad; su par es la flauta. Explica el lingüista k'iche' Sam Colop (2008: 186n306) que, "siguiendo a 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."

Chamcham is the second instrument in the long list of emblems of chiefly authority given to the K'iche' people by Nakxit; it is paired, unsurprisingly, with the flute. Anthropologist Allen J. Christenson (2007: 258n695) notes the connection between flutes and drums in contemporary K'iche' ceremony. He writes: "The standard musical instruments used in ritual processions and ceremonies are the flute and large drum. Each is considered a living entity. Among the modern highland Maya, the drum often has a hole, or cluster of holes, in its side called its 'mouth.' Attendants periodically pour liquor into this hole to give the drum strength when it gets 'thirsty.'"