Clearly and soulfully voiced to a concert/recording quality bass Bm pentatonic scale, modes 1 & 4, this beautifully mystical Tobacco Prayer Flute measures 26 1/2" in length, with a 1 1/4" diameter sound chamber, also playing three in-tune uppeer register notes. Finger holes are ergonomically offset, 1 1/2" between centers. As with all Dryad Flutes it was bored out unsplit, honoring the strength and integrity of Tree Tobacco's (Nicotiana glauca) growth rings and natural character. Each of the 11 branchlets spiraling up around this tobacco stalk (including one in the bird) has been set with an exquisite amethyst crystal point looking very much like flowering buds, allowing for the healing properties of amethyst to join in harmonious synergy with the spirit of Tobacco. Whenever this flute's air column vibrates in the expression of its sound, it also vibrates the Amethyst quartz crystals, creating through the piezoelectric effect a subtle electricity. This is a flute of natural magic, intended for prayer and healing intentions. Deer leather lacing with amethyst and copper beads secures the bird to its nest. To help prevent wetout, the bird has been fitted with a cedar shoe, and a drain hole, covered by the lacing, has been designed into the air chamber. This Tobacco Prayer Flute has been well sealed, inside and out, so that neither of the alkaloids in Nicotiana glauca (nicotine and anabasine) come into contact with the player. Tree Tobacco ( Nicotiana glauca ) is a species of wild tobacco native to South America that can grow to the size of a small tree. It has naturalized to other parts of the world, including here in Southern California where the Cahuilla Indians used its leaves "interchangeably with other tobacco species in hunting rituals and as a poultice to treat swellings, bruises, cuts, wounds, boils, sores, inflamed throat, and swollen glands." (source) Various types of tobacco have been used traditionally in native cultures throughout the Americas as offerings to the spirits, for planting, for gathering food, for healings and for the Native American Pipe Ceremony. (source) SOLD |