Ciaramedda

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

The ciaramedda is native to the rural areas of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and Calabria, particularly in the provinces of Messina and Reggio Calabria, though it can also be found in the provinces of Catania,

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one o ...

Enna Enna ( or ; grc, Ἔννα; la, Henna, less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( scn, Castrugiuvanni ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering ...

, Siracusa and as far north as

Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), 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 p ...

. 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 () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

. 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