‘Gallina’ (chicken)

It is made of wood, sheepskin and hilobala (the local term for hemp, used for tying and sewing leather) which is then waxed. Its construction is similar to that of a zambomba, using hollowed out holly oak, but the mouth (aperture) is wider than the base. Lengthways cuts were made in the body and the top one was used to fix and tense the skin. A hole was made in the skin and the hemp was fed through it, a knot was tied on the inside so that when the hemp was pulled, the membrane vibrated making a noise like a chicken. The hemp was coated in wax so you didn´t hurt your hand when pulling it.

It is an ancestral game reminiscent of the Carpathians, used for playing with children who learnt to identify and mimic different animal sounds. You hold it with one hand inside the hollowed out wood and use your other hand to stretch or loosen the membrane at different tension to obtain the sound you want.