Page 13 - AHATA

A9
LOCAL Tuesday 1 July 2025

Ever heard of the cah’i orgel?

A key instrument in Aruban folklore music

(Oranjestad)—The cah’i orgel mu- After that, Sprock made his own recognized from the start that the
sic box is an important and unique cah’i orgel “Josefina”, and suc- cah’i orgel is an instrument that
instrument that is used on the ABC cessfully debuted it on the streets needs preserving.
islands in the Dutch Caribbean. This of Barquisimeto. Back in Curacao,
instrument is a staple in our folklore he started his own cah’i orgel busi- As mentioned, the cah’i orgel is a
music, and its significance in the ness along with his brother Luis. In music box. made from mahogany
traditions of Aruba has and contin- Aruba, it is said that the cah’i orgel wood, it contains a cylinder with a
ues to bring together the old and was introduced by Rufo Wever, maximum of eight music pieces.
young. who later in his career became By rotating the lever on the front
one of the composers for the Aru- side of the box, the cah’i orgel pro-
The origin of the cah’i orgel is said ban national anthem. duces music similar to that of a pi-
to have come from Europe around ano, and is accompanied often by
150 years ago. A cross breed be- Rufo Wever was a young musician someone else playing the “wiri”, a
tween the barrel piano and the in 1937 when he established his percussion instrument made out of tumba, mazurka and more.
organ, the most popular stories own cah’i orgel business on the is- steel and reminiscent to the Span-
said that the instrument came land. Before that he experimented ish guiro. Back then, you would of- Fun fact: another name for the
from either England or Germany, with his uncle’s cah’i orgel, and he ten also find someone playing the cah’i orgel is the “tingilingi box.”q
but made its way to Italy down over the years he learned to build triangle alongside the cah’i orgel Source: “E Cilinder Magico entre
to Venezuela, where in 1881, Mr. and repair the instrument. In fact, and wiri. In Aruba, the cah’i orgel Aruba y Curaçao” by Marilyn Alcalá-
Horatio Sprock (1866-1949) from he was incredibly skilled in this, and and wiri is used for traditional music Wallé, Herta Parabirsing-Balentina and
Curacao was first introduced to it. he was one of the few to have genres, such as the Aruban waltz, Nidia Rosaria-Wallé.

Aruba’s kite flying tradition

dried up cactus sticks for
the frame, old news papers,
and glue made from flour,
water and salt to dry faster
(some people even use
cornstarch slurry as glue),
kids usually make their own
kites with their friends, par-
ents or other close family
members. Tails are made
from old bed sheets, ripped
and tied together to create
(Oranjestad)—Every year in the nearby mondi* and in a long string of fabric trail- the more colorful, the bet- the biggest, the prettiest,
for King’s Day, Arubans the kitchen at home. Using ing behind the back end ter! and whose could fly flaw-
gather with friends and fam- of the kite. To finish off the lessly and longer in the
ily to fly kites. Big or small, process, people used fish People usually fly their kites air.q
paper or plastic, blue skies lines or thin rope to tie three in big open fields, like emp-
fill up with these colorful fly- corners of the kite together. ty soccer and baseball
ing contraptions, brighten- Another long string of rope fields found all around the
ing our yearly celebration is tied in the knotted center island around noon, when
of the Dutch Monarch. and bundled up, used to the sun is at its brightest.
steer the kite as it flies in the
The tradition of flying kites air. In the past few years, kite
starts at home in the weeks Decorating the kite was flying has become a sport
leading up to King’s Day. especially important, and in which groups of people
These kites were tradition- children would use paint to would battle against each
ally made with things found create their own designs— other to see whose kite is