Ciaramedda

{{unreferenced, date=December 2014 The ciaramedda or ciaramèddha ( Sicilian) is a type of

zampogna Zampogna (, , ) is a generic term for a number of Italian double chantered bagpipes that can be found throughout areas in Latium. The tradition is now mostly associated with Christmas, and the most famous Italian carol, " Tu scendi dalle stelle" ( ...

with equal length double chanters. Other terms for this instrument include "zampogna a paru" and "terzalora" or simply "cornamuse". Costumi siciliani del Natale la ciaramedda

Costumi siciliani del Natale la ciaramedda

The ciaramedda is native to the rural areas of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

and

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

, particularly in the provinces of

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

and

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

, though it can also be found in the provinces of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

Agrigento Agrigento (; or ) is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonists from Gela, Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading cities during the golden ...

Enna Enna ( or ; ; , less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering above the surrounding countryside. It has e ...

, Siracusa and as far north as

Catanzaro Catanzaro (; or ; ), also known as the "City of the two Seas" (), is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its province and the second most populated comune of the region, behind Reggio Calabr ...

. The instrument consists of a bag (usually of goatskin), a blowpipe to inflate the bag, and two chanters which play a melody and harmony (or counter-rhythm), which are generally made of heather wood or any type of native grown fruit wood. The three drones, which provide constant harmony, are known as ''bassu'', ''quatta'', and ''fisciettu''. Some pipes just have two drones. In Sicily, often only the middle drone is reeded while the other two remain muted and serve only as decoration. The ciaramedda became less prominent in Sicilian culture with the decline of European pastoral culture; however, it survives in the context of religious festivals, particularly during Christmas. In Reggio Calabria the instrument still enjoys secular use and is one of the principal instruments used in communal dances, accompanied by a tambourine to play the

tarantella Tarantella () is a group of various Southern Italy, southern Italian Italian folk dance, folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania, Sicilia, and Apulia. It is characterized by a fast Beat (music), upbeat tempo, usually in Ti ...

. In the Messinese dialect the single blade cane reed mounted in the chanters and drones is called a "zammara." In the province of Catania the reed is called a "zampogna." Sicilian musical instruments Calabrian musical instruments Italian musical instruments Bagpipes