Anton Peteh, Petešljari (Žminj), 1888-1975

Anton Peteh, along with Miro Blažina, was the only active maker of sopele in the 1960s. Peteh was born in Petešljari near Žminj. In his early youth he fell off a ladder and almost completely damaged his hearing. He did not sing, nor could play, but that did not hamper him in instrument making. In the beginning, however, the players showed a visible distrust for an almost deaf man who makes sopele and only practical use showed that the instruments were just fine, and some even excellent. He learned to make instruments, primarily šurle, mainly from boxwood, from his father Tone, and besides them, the sopele and bagpipes, he made the sopelice and so was the last builder of the older generation who still made this instrument.

Anton Peteh with his wife in the courtyard. Petešljari (Žminj), 1963. Photo by Josip Milicevic. From the documentation of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore in Zagreb, IEF Foto 2884.