Bilogora zujaljka

zujaljka

zujaljka: Croatian, 'the buzzer', from zujati, to buzz or hum.

Bilogora is the low wooded ridge between Moslavina and Podravina, old Military Frontier country where Kajkavian and Štokavian speech still ring side by side and villagers remember the St George's Day songs of the đurđari, the Midsummer rounds of the ladarice, and two once-magical dances, Gluvak and Kozatuš. Among the region's old instruments is the zujaljka, 'the buzzer', a wavy-edged wooden lath on a long cord, whirled to drone. Ivica Ivanković spent fifteen years recording Bilogora singers, and when he put their songs and dances on stage with the national folk ensemble LADO in 2014 the old instruments came too, the zujaljka among them.

Tičeki, zujaljka (kakvu, primjerice, na sasvim drugom kraju svijeta poznaju i australski domoroci, Aboridžini!), zatim dvojnice i dude drevna su zrakozvučna glazbala stara vjerojatno koliko i ljudsko vjerovanje u moći nadnaravnih bića

Tičeki, the zujaljka (of a kind known even to the Australian natives, the Aborigines, at the other end of the world!), the double pipe and the bagpipe are ancient air-sounding instruments, probably as old as human belief in the powers of supernatural beings

Ivica Ivanković, LADO Godišnjak 2014, p. 40

Particulars

Object

A narrow board of reddish wood with wavy edges, pierced at one end and tied to a long twine cord.

Function

Whirled in the air as a folk sound instrument; one of the region's old 'air-sounding' instruments, played again on stage in LADO's 2014 Bilogora suite.