Bagpipe and Kilt, or Accordion and Lederhosen

Considering the love of, and talent for, music, of the Wends, it’s not surprising that I was exposed to the sounds of various musical instruments as well as singing from a very early age.

My earliest memories of family gatherings included that of pump organ, guitar, accordion, mandolin, ukelele, and piano.

My mother played the pump organ and a cousin played the accordion, probably the two most popular instruments among us, both requiring a manual production of wind or air.

What we never had nor saw in those days, however, was a bagpipe.  I saw my first bagpipe in the Presbyterian church (I think) where my piano teacher held our recitals in Giddings.  No one played it any more.

From what I could tell, it was a lot easier to produce wind or air for the accordion or pump organ than with the bags of a bagpipe.

You can fast forward my life a number of decades and not see nor hear about a bagpipe again.

Later in life, when I began to do serious research on my family history, which included studying the Wendish people, Slavic nomads who eventually settled in Saxony, Germany, about 350 A.D., my research uncovered the fact that the ancient Wends played an instrument which was an early version of a bagpipe.

While the commentator on this fact believed the ancient Wends learned about bagpipes from the ancient Celts, that doesn’t connect the ancient Celts with the ancient Wends.  Curiosity led me to discover the bagpipe was found throughout. Europe, Western Asia, Northern Africa, India, Ireland, Sweden, and other European countries.  The earliest bagpipe was believed to have been played in Egypt in 400 B.C.  Some early bagpipes were said to have been made of dog skin.

Most of us know the bagpipe is the National Instrument of Scotland and is also very popular in Northern England.  Some folks believe it originated in Scotland, which seems to counter the idea of its origin in Egypt.  It seems a lot more research needs to be done on the bagpipe’s origin.

I always picture bagpipes being played by marching men wearing kilts.  Apparently the folks in Scotland believe kilts were first worn in Scotland, but the Irish think they were first worn in Ireland.  They take the same stand on the bagpipe, played first in Scotland, no, played first in Ireland.  Both people from Scotland and people from Ireland were descended from the ancient Celts.

In Scotland, wearing the kilt seems to be a matter of national pride, but you don’t have to wear it with a bagpipe.

My ancestors tended to wear Lederhosen when they played the accordion.  And a feather in their hat!

Ray Spitzenberger is a retired WCJC teacher, a retired LCMS pastor, and author of three books, I Must Be the Noodles, Open Prairies, and Tanka Schoen.

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