If you happen to spot a young man walking around Tallinn – or his home town of Haapsalu – wearing a wood carving around his neck which turns out (upon closer examination) to be a whistle – then that’s probably Daniel. You
If you happen to spot a young man walking around Tallinn – or his home town of Haapsalu – wearing a wood carving around his neck which turns out (upon closer examination) to be a whistle – then that’s probably Daniel. You see, Daniel has a thing about whistles. The rest of us probably do as well – the only difference is that we’ve just forgotten everything that Daniel still remembers. Whistles, after all, have been with us since the beginning of human time.
Who can say how our first human ancestors used whistles to communicate with each other as there are no records from that time. What we can say is that whistled languages have survived on every inhabited continent – especially in places still considered to be remote or isolated – where whistled speech serves as an ideal way to “talk” over long distances or across rough terrain.
While various cultures once used whistles to communicate with the spirit world, early Taoists engaged in a kind of transcendental whistling (changxiao). People around the world have always believed that there are a fortunate few who have mastered the mythical language of birds. Odin, after all, collected reports from his ravens Hugin (Thought) and Munin (Memory) before being buried – according to one legend – on Osmussaare off the Estonian coast. And St Francis of Assisi – the patron saint of animals – is most closely identified with birds to whom he preached a sermon about God’s love in Italy’s Spoleto Valley.
And, of course, the very first musical instruments we know – made over 30,000 years old – are bone flutes which produced a complex range of whistles that were transformed into music and helped set human creativity free. While flutes and whistles made from wood and other more fragile materials may have been made even earlier, none have survived to the present day. Without doubt, whistling is an inextricable part of what makes us human.
Although most of us no longer whistle, our language remains filled with whistle idioms: when we have a drink, we wet our whistles; when we go “all out,” we put on our bells and whistles; when we report on someone, we blow the whistle: when someone is innocent, they are as clean as a whistle; when we fail to change something, we whistle in the wind; and we could whistle on and on.
We once used factory and ship whistles to mark time while kettles whistled to let us know that the water had boiled. Today, referees still use whistles to help us regulate our games while the police use their whistles to grab out attention. And let’s not forget the dog whistles we still use to call our canine friends – the first animals that humans domesticated perhaps 30,000 years ago. Coincidence?
So, Daniel understands whistles and the fascination they still hold. Indeed, Daniel makes all kinds of whistles including a simple one carved from a branch which makes but a single sound. If you want something more complex – say a double whistle or a whistle with multiple stops to produce a three-note scale – well, Daniel makes those whistles as well. He even makes complex wooden whistles – pipes – out of wood blocks or branches which might even resemble the very first human instruments.
Daniel believes that “there are things which a machine just can’t make.” When I look at the lovely fish-shaped whistle I bought from him at a fair a couple of years ago, I can’t help but agree. So, I hope he continues to make beautiful things with his hands and to enjoy his life as a craftsman. And if he ever wants more attention, all he needs to do is whistle.
Although making whistles seems to be your calling, you make much more out of wood than just whistles. So what else do you enjoy making out of wood – and why?
When I was younger, living in Haapsalu, I really enjoyed making wooden weapons. I started with clubs that were made from young trees. With their heavy root ends, they made real battle weapons. Those clubs became the main weapons for our eight-boy forest gang. We all competed to make the club with best possible dynamics and crush-force. After some y