MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN THE ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM IN ZAGREB

Božidar Širola purchased these bagpipes while doing field research. He described the instrument and explained how it was made, but he also wrote information on the bagpipes player, Jozo Čizmeković, who was 73 at the time. He was originally from Paulin Kloštar. When he got married he moved to Kapela, where he lived until his death. He started playing the bagpipes when he was fourteen years old; he “taught himself to play while he was grazing sheep”. When he was sixteen years old, he started playing at weddings. He told Širola that he played the bagpipes "at over 500 weddings during the course of his life” (Širola 1932: 204). The text about this man is a bit long, but it testifies to the frequency and context of the bagpipes playing. It also testifies to the bagpipes player’s status - “at weddings he was paid by the men in charge, the bride’s and the groom’s fathers, usually 5 to 6 forints, and the player usually stayed there for three to four days, or even from Sunday to Sunday if the families whose children were getting married were rich” (ibid.). This all leads to the conclusion, recorded by Širola as well, that: “The bagpipes player is very resilient. He plays all night long, blows the air into the bellows, squeezes them with his elbow, moves his fingers up and down the chanter, stomps his feet, sings and dances, and drinks because his throat is dry and he is thirsty. And he has to do this for a few consecutive days. A good bagpipes player is treated well and respected.” (Širola 1932: 206).