Pascola dancer hand rattle

Description

The senazo is a shaken idiophone instrument whose Yaqui name is Sena'aso. It is another of the rattles used by the Pascola in his dance with the Maso or Venado. The body of the instrument is made of a single piece of poplar wood, it consists of a rectangular frame that houses two sets of metal discs and a cylindrical handle.

The senazo is executed with two movements: first shaking it in the air with the right hand and then smashing it against the palm of the left. With these movements the Pascola dancer produces a great variety of rhythms. The Pascola requires a great rhythmic sense and a lot of flexibility in the right wrist to play the senazo, making it dialogue with the drum and combining this action with the movements of the head and feet that the dance requires.

The name of the instrument sena'aso may derive from the Spanish rattle, due to the fact that the Yaquis themselves usually also call it rattle, therefore, there is a possibility that its origin is Mediterranean and it has reached Mexico through the colonizers. Its symbolism by itself is difficult to discern, it is believed to be totally linked to that of Pascola's mask (Varela, 1986).