Thirty-six is 'e castagnelle, glossed in Italian as le nacchere: castanets. The Neapolitan name is a diminutive of chestnut, after the shape and the colour of the wooden shells.
They belong to the tammurriata and the tarantella, played against the frame drum, and they are still made and sold in Naples.
- 36
- 'E castagnelle
- the castanets
- Row 31–40 of the tabellone
Where the figure comes from
No recorded reason for the number.
Other things filed on 36
In Neapolitan life
Music is scattered rather than grouped: castanets at 36, music itself at 55, the fountain at 76 and flowers at 81 with no thread between them. The board was assembled by ear, not by category.
36 in the smorfia — frequently asked
Castanets — small wooden clappers held in the hand, used in Neapolitan folk dance. The name comes from the chestnut they resemble.
The instrument is not, but the castagnelle played against a tammorra are a fixture of Campanian folk music and are still made in the region.