Bagpipe-Gate? Biden Tweet Lauding Piper Playing in the White House Sparks Debate on Instrument’s Origin
President Joe Biden shared a video of someone playing the bagpipes at the White House, sparking a debate on Twitter regarding the origin of the instrument.
“They really know how to make an Irishman feel special at the White House,” Biden captioned the video, which shows him thanking the piper and saying that his late mother, Jean Finnegan, would thank him.
They really know how to make an Irishman feel special at the White House. pic.twitter.com/NDSGJt5fI1
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 21, 2021
CNN reporter Donie O’Sullivan retweeted the video, bluntly writing, “Bagpipes are Scottish.”
Bagpipes are Scottish. https://t.co/cYJfPLjKx5
— Donie O’Sullivan (@donie) March 22, 2021
The statement quickly sparked a debate regarding the origin of the bagpipes, with even a piper weighing in:
Bagpipe War!!! https://t.co/arr21zgcOx pic.twitter.com/warjdVfqHh
— Wilson (@WilsonsWorld) March 22, 2021
Bagpipes are Welsh ? pic.twitter.com/VQSHZ7i3SJ
— chris o’dowd (@BigBoyler) March 22, 2021
There are many cultures with their own version of a bagpipe – such as the Persian Habban.
— Mike Glenn (@mrglenn) March 22, 2021
I love this. A big brouhaha over bagpipes is so very Twitter https://t.co/puvtYRGpEc
— Matt Wuerker (@wuerker) March 22, 2021
Speaking as a Piper myself it is important to dispel the myth that the Bagpipes originated in Scotland:- pic.twitter.com/8aZWildQ6G
— ??á? ??? ????????? ???? (@UladhGael) March 22, 2021
The piper, Twitter user ??á? ??? ?????????, shared screenshots of a website explaining the instrument’s history, which noted that the “Great Irish Warpipes” also simply referred to as the bagpipes, are historically identical to the “Great Highland Bagpipe.”
“The Warpipes have a long and significant history in Ireland and in Scotland, the Scotland tradition has somewhat overshadowed the Irish one in the past 200 or so years,” added the excerpt.
Other Twitter users noted that people have played bagpipes, or instruments that resemble the bagpipes, throughout history, including communities within Europe, Anatolia, Northern Africa, the Caucasus, Western Asia, and near and around the Persian Gulf.
