WHERE DID OCARINAS ORIGINATE?
Though prior to that day in Boston I had never heard of ocarinas, they are no musical upstarts. Long before Columbus’ first voyage to the New World, clay ocarinas played a role in various cultures indigenous to South and Central America. Actually, globular flutes or vessel flutes (generic terms for the ocarina) have existed since ancient times in many other regions including Russia and China. In the late 1800s, a form of clay vessel flute was widely played on the streets of Italy and was dubbed the “ocarina” or “little goose” because of its shape. Today the ocarina is a popular folk instrument in England, the United States, and other parts of the world.
