 | ||
The caña de millo, flauta de millo or pito atravesao is a woodwind musical instrument of indigenous origin used in the cumbia music of Colombia's Caribbean coast.
It is made of carrizo cane (Phragmites australis), palm, millet, sorghum, or similar stalks, forming a tube open at both ends, with a vibrating tongue (reed) cut of the same material as the tube, with four fingerholes. It is played transverse, and used by folkloric musical ensembles called grupos de millo. The caña de millo replaces the kuisi (or gaita) in regions of the Colombian departments of Atlántico and Magdalena.
Other names
The instrument is known by other names such as flauta traversa de millo, carrizo, lata, or bambú. In Atlántico department it is known as the flauta or caña de millo, and in the savannahs of Bolívar, Córdoba and Sucre it is called pito atravesado. A player is referred to as a cañamillero.