Rombia // Her sister, the lantern, continued her journey through time.
At the end of 1925, the laterna and its sister, the rombia, were persecuted!
The folk aerophones, as the scholars of the time called them, pointing out that they were a type of church instruments. The first took its name from la torno (that which turns) and the second from a misreading of the Latin "POMBIA" that was written on its front!
The two sisters, whom the younger generation confuses by writing that they are the same instrument, had great differences internally and also in their external appearance. The laterna was carried on their shoulders and was a peculiar instrument, it had soul, spirit, rhythm, feeling, humor. It met with glory not only in outdoor life and in popular centers, but also entered the salons.
The rombia was dragged on three wheels and looked more like its piano. It had fifty voices, as opposed to the laterna which had 36 and a bell. The rhombia had ten songs and the laterna nine.
Rombia was a form of entertainment for the common people, although many considered it an inferior musical instrument! However, many insisted that it was a national instrument with which the people and the neighborhood were fed.
Among them was Iraklis Petimezas, an officer, journalist and national resistance fighter. He published a short story titled "The Death of Rombia", describing the people's love for this instrument and those who served or enjoyed it.
As for the lantern, it continued its journey to reach, even in our days, the main streets of the capital.
''the text is borrowed from the website Τα Αθηναικά''