Siku (instrument)

Siku (Quechua: antara, Aymara: siku, also "sicu", "sicus", "zampolla" or Spanish zampoña) is a traditional Andean panpipe.^[1] This instrument is the main instrument used in a musical genre known as sikuri. It is traditionally found all across the Andes but is more typically associated with music from the Kollasuyo, or Aymara speaking regions around Lake Titicaca.^[2] Historically because of the complicated mountain geography of the region, and due to other factors, in some regions each community would develop its own type of siku, with its own special tuning, shape and size. Additionally each community developed its own style of playing. Today the siku has been standardized to fit in with modern western forms of music and has been transported from its traditional roots.