Horn (vykani)

The horn (vykani), the 'trumpet of the poor', was first used by shepherds to send messages. The player held it in one hand and blew into it with his head tilted slightly upwards.

At first the instrument was simply a curved animal horn. To make it sound better, the bony core was removed and the horn was carefully baked. Later, in Roman times, the vykani was made of copper in exactly the same shape, except that it ended in a wide, downward-facing bell, to give softer tones.

Its sound was less powerful than that of the trumpet, but it had a special colour, which is why it was needed to open ceremonies. Slow and booming, its notes seemed to come from unknown depths.