KINGMAN – If you find yourself in downtown Kingman and hear alluring flute music, it may be the sounds of Qarayah Chaay – an Aboriginal American who has around one year of experience playing the flute. If you ask him about his flute he will tell you, “This is not a flute, it’s a spiritual tool. It’s made from natural cedar wood. It was hand made in March 2018 and is in the key of F.” He will tell you that flutes similar to his are played at Native American gatherings and when offerings are made during rituals to clear the soul of negative spirits. Chaay will also tell you the tale of how the flute came to be.
The story goes: A small boy and his mother were in the village market. The boy saw the most beautiful bird. He began to follow it until he was far away from his mother. Once he had realized he had wandered far away he began to get scared. Just then, he remembered his mother telling him, “If you ever get lost make a unique sound and I will hear it and come to find you.” The boy was no longer afraid. He sat down at the base of a tree. The bird he had been chasing landed on a branch above him. The bird began pecking at the branch. The boy heard a sound he had never heard before so he climbed the tree to see what the sound was. When he got to the branch where the bird was perched, the bird flew off. The boy saw the branch and how the bird had pecked on it. He took the branch and blew over it and it made the most beautiful sound. He began to blow on it more. The mother heard the sound and followed it to where the boy was. This is how the flute came to be.
If you are in downtown Kingman on a warm day and hear the most beautiful sound., it may be Qarayah Chaay playing his flute and you can hear the story of its origins.
Chad Walker