The torupill () is a traditional bagpipe from Estonia. Place in Estonian folk music It is not clear when the bagpipe became established in Estonia. The instrument was known throughout Estonia. The bagpipe tradition was longest preserved in West and North Estonia where folk music retained archaic characteristics for a longer time. Later when the fiddle was taking over folk music a lot of bagpipe tunes were transcribed for it. Very often the bagpipe was used for playing dance music; other instruments served this purpose only in the absence of the bagpipe. Some old ceremonial dances, such as the Round Dance (Voortants) and the Tail Dance (Sabatants) were performed together with a bagpiper who walked at the head of the column. Ceremonial music took an important place in the bagpipers' repertoires in the 17th century, as seen from the literary sources of that time. For instance, the presence of a bagpiper was considered essential during weddings, where he had to take part in certain ceremonies. There were special tunes, marches or riding melodies that were performed in the wedding procession, etc. The bagpiper was an indispensable participant in dances and social gatherings. He accompanied minstrels during Martinmas and Christmas. No pub could manage without a good musician. One of the most popular players in history has been considered Juhan Maaker (1845–1930) at the time called the king of bagpipe players in Estonia. Another notable players include Juhan Maaker's nephew Aleksander Maaker (1890–1968). After his death there was only one surviving bagpipe player alive in Estonia: Olev Roomet who became the revivalist of bagpipe in the country by training 25 new players in the 1970s. In modern times bagpipe playing is a part of the curriculum at University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy's Traditional Music faculty and in a number of regular music schools around the country. Construction The Estonian bagpipe has a bag, a mouth-pipe (blow-pipe) for inflating the bag, a melody-pipe (chanter) and 1 or 2, rarely 3, drones. Bag The bag ("tuulekott", "magu", "lõõts", "kott", etc.) was usually made of the stomach of a grey seal in the western and northern parts of Estonia and on the islands. Most valued were the stomachs of large old seals. The bag that was made of a seal's stomach, was not spoilt either by aridity or by humidity. A bagpiper of the Hiiu island is known to have said that if