No, you cannot touch my zither

…at least, I’m pretty sure it’s a kantele, which falls into the category of zithers, or lap-harps.  It’s related (according to Wikipedia) to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės; these instruments, along with the kantele, fall into the more narrow category of zithers known as psalteries.  I play (poorly) a much less sophisticated cousin of these instruments, called the mountain dulcimer or Appalachian dulcimer.  But there are varieties of kantele which have as few as five strings that might be within my ken.

The Finnish epic poem Kalevala holds that the mage Väinämöinen crafted the first kantele from the jawbone of a giant pike onto which his boat had run “aground”, as it were; he used hairs from a stallion’s mane for the strings.  The first kantele was lost in the sea after further misadventures, but Väinämöinen carved a new one from birchwood.

The Kalevala is a fascinating read, though I don’t anticipate tackling it in the original Finnish anytime soon.  Another fun read is The Wall of Serpents, part of the Compleat Enchanter comical fantasy series by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt.  In Serpents, a small party from our universe (along with Belphoebe, the huntress from Spenser’s The Faerie Queen) travel into the universe of the Kalevala and interact with all the major characters.  I recommend it highly.

My thanks, of course, to Kirsi for sending me this terrific postcard.  The kantele is renowned for its bell-like tones; please enjoy this sample.

4 Comments

1. postcardy (July 2nd, 2009 at 8:27 PM)

   That looks hard to play. All I could play was the drum because I am tone deaf.
2. Marie (July 3rd, 2009 at 2:14 AM)

   You play the mountain dulcimer!!! Who cool is that? You are witty, charming, and a musician! This video was truly phenomenal! I’m going to show it to the bambinos too:)
3. aimee (July 3rd, 2009 at 1:39 PM)

   Great card! Perfect for the 4th!
4. J (July 8th, 2009 at 8:19 AM)

   My grandmother was Finnish and arrived in Massachusetts in 1914 so I enjoyed seeing, reading, and listening to your post!

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