Meet La Lucia's viral bagpipes player Michael Cairns
A video of this man simply walking around playing his instrument has made the rounds on social media.
Whilst South Africa - particularly KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng - experiences the worst civil unrest it has seen since the Apartheid era, everyone wants to share peace and love in their own kind of way.
This local man, Michael Cairns, was documented by one of the men from a La Lucia community watch group on the night of Wednesday, 14 July 2021.
He is seen walking in the opposite direction of where the roadblocks are placed, peacefully blowing into his traditional Irish/Scottish instrument.
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This is one way to soothe and to share the gift of music with the rest of the community during this time.
One of the symbolisms of the bagpipe is that of mourning for fallen heroes, especially firefighters and policemen.
The pipes were a comforting and familiar tribute to immigrants who arrived in the US back in the 1800s and had to do more dangerous jobs due a lack of employment opportunities. When they passed while on duty, the bagpipes would be played at the funerals.
The mournful and haunting sound of the pipes evoked a release of emotions often held back. Most people have related that the sound of the bagpipe music started a release of memories and emotions that began the healing process.
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And during this time, we do mourn the lives of so many people lost, but we also mourn the little stability we had as an economy, as it now painfully collapses in front of our eyes.
It may have been a random playing of the instrument amidst immeasurable chaos, but to look at it as a tribute, a beam of light to those looking out for their families, to those who are fighting for their lives right now, to our country as it cries, it allows us to truly digest the pain our country and its people feel during this time.
We were able to reach him and this was what he had to say:
This is our pipe band. Lots of people call me Mac-atini (from the old lunch bar advert) but the band calls me MC (because initials but also we have so many Michael’s in the band). I’m not a public speaker but if the message could be about positive change and bring the community together. That would be great 👍🏼 I was asked at the watch if I was armed, I said no but I brought some entertainment.
Here is the shared video of him playing the bagpipes:
Main Image Courtesy: Pixabay