Today’s ocarina has five holes and plays the same way as the last one, but it is completely different in shape and material. This ocarina, if it can indeed be called an ocarina, is an interesting hybrid of wood and gourd. It came with a taped-on piece of paper that said, “Made in Madagascar.” No, it wasn’t a sticker. It was a hand-cut piece of paper stuck on with tape. Sadly, that must have been someone’s job. I hope they got paid a living wage for it.
I’m feeling rather pathetic at the moment, because I’m not 100% sure where Madagascar is, and though I know there’s an animated movie by the same name, that’s about all I know. For the record, I have a feeling that it’s an African island. I am now going to look it up on the principle that ignorance is acceptable only until you realize your ignorance, at which point you are obligated to eliminate it.
The writers of Wikipedia also think it’s an African island. Whew! Interesting points from the Wikipedia article: Madagascar is an island nation located off the southeast coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth largest island in the world, but is sometimes called “The Eighth Continent” by ecologists because of it has so many unique flora and fauna, including some awesome baobobs and lemurs. Madagascar is the world’s leading producer of vanilla.
Gourdy instruments were not on the list of major exports from Madagascar, but the Wikipedia article about ocarinas states that there is an ocarina-like instrument from Africa which they refer to as an “African globe flute.” Maybe that’s what this is, but I couldn’t find any other references to such a thing. When it comes to Wikipedia, the big stuff is usually right, but the small stuff is questionable. In any event, I like my cute little African “ocarina.” It has good tuning and a pleasant, woody tone, which you can hear here: Gourdy Ocarina.