Entry 6: The Miller Plays a Lira – U Mulinaru Sona a Lira

Location: Calabria, Italy

Date: Sometime in the late 1880’s onwards

His lira sits under the shade of a tree

Longing to be caressed with fingers and bow.

Ancient tunes aching to escape,

To drift free through vibrating strings

And dance with the soft breeze,

Over golden fields of wheat. 

Giuseppe (Peppe) Trimboli didn’t own the land he lived and worked on, nor did he own the watermill he operated, but this did not discourage him from maximising the full potential of resources available to him. He had a river to power the mill; streams to access for irrigation; fertile soil for growing vegetables, fruit trees, an olive grove and a vineyard; hectares of space for farm animals to graze; fields to grow wheat and barley; and, to top it all off, an enviable workforce of nine energetic children and numerous grandchildren.

Among this richness was a handmade musical instrument - his Calabrese lira. Although Peppe’s life was heavily skewed towards work with little time for leisure, music was his creative passion and he would frequently play the lira. In the evenings, under the moon and stars, with a wood-fire and an oil lamp as the only sources of light, music provided entertainment that his whole family could enjoy.

Original Calabrese lira owned and played by Peppe (original bow has been replaced with the one pictured)

Peppe’s life was synchronised with nature and the seasons. Each year, with countless hours of manual labour and simple tools, wheat seeds were planted into freshly ploughed soil. During the summer month of June, his crop was ready to be harvested using nothing more than ‘u cuzzuri’ (a handheld sickle), and the combined strength and stamina of family members irrespective of gender or age. Processing the grain was also labour intensive and time consuming, but this was the way things were done in Siderno as far back as Peppe could remember. The work was worth the effort when the reward was substantial - enough grain to last throughout the year and prevent your family from starving. 

With wheat supplies replenished, contagious happiness and relief swept through the Trimboli family as they celebrated the end of another successful annual harvest. Children danced as Peppe played Tarantella music on his lira and exhausted adults gave thanks to God: “Simu cuntenti ca iesti na bella annata i granu.  Grazi a Diu.”

The precious grains were stored and sealed in large, ceramic glazed terracotta jars and decanted to take to the mill for grinding whenever the last batch of household flour was almost finished. The significance of pasta and bread in the daily lives of Italians is indisputable, therefore, with flour being the key ingredient for these foods, the miller provided an important service throughout the district. Locals gave Peppe the nickname ‘U Mulinaru’ (The Miller) and even his children were identified this way: ‘Cuncia du Mulinaru’, ‘Peppa du Mulinaru’, ‘Micu du Mulinaru’, and so on.

The watermill Peppe operated was a stone building located on the bank of the Novito River in the Oliveto district. A wooden waterwheel was attached to the outside wall and linked to a pair of millstones located inside the building. The millstones consisted of two, circular flat stones sitting on top of each other. The stone on the bottom remained stationary at all times. During the grinding process, grain was poured into a hole in the centre of the top stone and as it rotated, the wheat was crushed between the two stones to produce flour.

Operating the mill required specialised skills and an understanding of:

1. Mechanics – rotation of a waterwheel and interconnecting shafts, axles, pulleys and gears

2. Hydraulic energy – harnessing the power of flowing water

3. Expertise in grains and flour

   
   

Even though Peppe had no formal education, he had absolute mastery of these principles ‘studying’ and learning the profession of a miller via the teachings of experienced elders.

In 1911, Peppe was fifty-one years old. His young sons Vici and Toni, (aged 10 and 8 respectively) were working with him at the mill doing simple chores such as collecting and bagging the wheat bran residue from the milling process. Nothing was wasted. These by-products were later used throughout the winter months as essential feed for their farm animals. When the boys were old enough, Peppe’s next role was to pass his expertise and all the secrets of an artisan miller to his sons. The most crucial skill was the ability to adjust the grinding speed of the rotating millstone, and there was only one way to achieve this - by controlling the water flow that powered the waterwheel. It was a hand-operated manoeuvre done inside the building with the tweaking of a string cable – a primitive method, but sophisticated at the same time.  These refined and precise speed adjustments affected the quality of the flour and were varied by Peppe depending on several factors: the amount of grain he needed to process; the type of grain (wheat, barley); the variety of wheat (Maiorca - soft grain, ‘Granu a Cappellu’ - hard grain); and the type of grind preferred (fine, course).

The watermill provided Peppe with only a modest livelihood. Milling activity was limited to the consumption needs of local families who had little or no money. Alternative methods of payment were often made through bartering, or if customers had nothing to trade, then a minuscule portion of unprocessed wheat was retained. Yet despite this, the mill operated for decades up until World War Two with Vici and Toni at some stage (well before 1945) becoming the new generation ‘mulinari’.

Today, Peppe’s mill on the bank of a pristine river exists only through dreams. In this ethereal world, the tune of a lira can be heard playing in the distance while the distressed voice of a Calabrese wife echoes clearly, as she urges her husband to take some grain to the miller:

“Maritu meu, porta nu pocu i granu du mulinaru, ca mi finiu a farina.

Porta nu pocu i granu du mulinaru, ca mi finiu a farina.

Mi finiu a farina.”

She ran out of flour.

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EXTRA INFORMATION

Through the passion of musician Gabriele Trimboli, the song of the traditional lira continues to be performed live in Calabria. (Gabriele's great-grandfather, Antonio, was Peppe's brother)