Horror but true fact of the day

You know I had to do one of these once I found out about this. What horror author could resist? I was in a class at the college I am currently attending a few days ago. This particular class is about the Introduction to the history of Western Music. It was the first day of the class so the professor was giving us a few random facts about the history of music as a whole.

Along the way the subject of the violin came up (as it often does in music classes) and he mentioned an interesting instrument that I, of course, had to share.

In Mongolia the horse is revered as “holy” and the Mongolian people treat them with respect. So what do they do with one when it dies? They create what is now known as the horsehead fiddle.



I’m sure from the picture you can come close to guess what that is. Essentially this instrument is made from the skull of the dead horse. They carve it up, shape it up, and then use the horses intestines to make the strings. What’s more the bow is usually made from the leg bone and hairs from the horse’s tail.

Sound gruesome to you? This was just something that sounded so much like it came straight from a horror book so I had to share.

Anyone else know of any such instruments?