Bagpipe is a woodwind folk instrument performed mostly in the northeast of Anatolia. Bagpipe, which has similar examples around the world, is made of lamb, sheep or kid skin. The instrument consists of three parts: bag, blowpipe (dudula), chanter (nav).
The skin to be used for making bagpipe is kept in ash mixed with water for 2-3 days to make the hairs fall off and after tanning, the head side is tied tightly in reverse so that the front legs are outside and the back side is inside. A blowpipe is tied on the right front foot and left to dry by inflating and hanging. After drying, hazelnut, almond oil or glycerine is applied to keep it soft and prevent cracking. Then a groove is made on the left front foot. This part is called chanter which is usually made of boxwood. The chanter is the part that carries the parts called analik and dillik, from which the melody is obtained. Two reeds, called analik, are placed neatly in the groove part of the nav in two rows so that the holes line up. The sounds coming out of these holes, which are side by side, must be in the same tuning. The dillik is formed by cutting a thick, well-dried reed from the knuckle of the reed so that one end remains open and the other closed.
When playing the bagpipe, the instrument is placed under the armpit. In the performance of the bagpipe, air is first blown through the blowpipe and the bag is completely filled with air. The air reaches the tongues inside the chanter section to create the sound. The performer uses both hands in the chanter. Different sounds are obtained by vibrating the fingers over the holes in the reeds.
Bagpipe is an important folk instrument that is played at weddings, festivals and various entertainments and is indispensable for horon, one of the most important folk dances of the local people.
Traditional Bagpipe Making and Performing was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Humanity on behalf of North Macedonia and Türkiye in 2024.