askomantoura

A musical instrument that you meet only rarely nowadays is the bagpipe - the askomantoura.
The bagpipe, a member of the woodwind family, consists of three main parts: the mouthpiece, the bag and the pipe. The pipe is the most complicated part and consists of a wooden socket with two reeds and the melody pipe.
*For the mouthpiece or the blowpipe (fouskotari) a hollowed out bone is generally used, as it is considerably stronger than wood.*
The bag (askos) is made out of the skin of a kid or a lamb. An animal of approximately 7 kilos is preferred, as it gives the best size of the bag. The hairs are cut to the length of ½ cm to prevent the bag from bursting. The hairs will also catch the moisture when you blow, and thus prevent the wooden parts from being destroyed. Afterwards the holes from three of the legs are sewn up, while the hole from the throat and the fourth leg remain open for the wooden socket and the mouthpiece. Then the reverse side is turned out.
*The wooden socket, cut out of oleander or maple, is hollowed out in order to make room for the two reeds (kalami). Any leaks that may occur are sealed with beeswax.*
The fingerholes in the reeds are made by glowing pieces of wood in order to make them completely round.

The reeds, which together make the melody pipe (mandoura), each consist of two parts. Partly of the reeds, which are fastened in the socket, and partly of two smaller reeds. A fine blade cut into the smaller reeds creates the vibrations in the air-current and in that way the sound of the instrument. The two smaller reeds are pressed into the top of the socket and can easily be changed when the blade becomes worn.
In late summer of 2005 I visited the Omalos tableland - not the well-known plain in Chania County, but the one that is located in the southern Lassithi mountains, north east of Viannos.
	Here I met Barba-Nikolis, who lives almost all summer in his mitato (herd's hut), even if he could have retired long ago. We sat in the shade of the small church chatting and sharing a chilled cucumber. Among other things he told me that he makes bagpipes. As I asked him to show me how, we went to his mitato, and after an improvised meal Barba-Nikolis set about showing me.

He explained that the most important part are the blades, which must be cut with great precision, as they create the sound.

	He also showed me the wooden socket of the pipe, and while his adroit fingers kept on cutting, he told how, as a young man, he used to climb the mountain behind the mitato to collect his sheep that were grazing on the other side. He had often been sitting on the mountain playing the bagpipe or using it for signaling the other shepherds. The thought of climbing the high mountain, and still having enough air to play the bagpipe afterwards, left me virtually breathless.

As Barba-Nikolis' bag was broken, and he did not have the time to make a new one, he simply put the pipe to his mouth and started playing a mournful melody. Indeed, the old shepherd still had enough air in his lungs.

	It was a pleasant surprise when the next year I saw a priest playing a bagpipe at a small party - this time on the well-known Omalos plain.