One of the instruments of ancient Sicilian shepherds, the “marranzanu”, or mouth harp, was used to accompany the flute.
In Sicily, the term marranzanu is used to refer to night crickets.
Therefore, it’s likely that the instrument was named using onomatopoeia because of its sound and monotone hum. A lyre-shaped iron instrument, the mouth harp accompanied popular songs and dances, like a low background note.
It was common belief that the sound of a silver mouth harp, if heard by a pregnant women, had the power to make her miscarry.
