What Is An Ocarina? The Ancient History Behind the 'Legend of Zelda’ Instrument

The official remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time debuted on November 5, 2026. The game faithfully follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, the legendary 1998 title of the same name. 

At the heart of the story is Link, a young boy tasked with saving the kingdom of Hyrule from the Gerudo desert king Ganondorf. At his side is the ocarina, an instrument that Link uses to change elements of his world.

Ocarinas, throughout time

Ocarinas are a type of vessel flute belonging to a family of wind instruments. Their earliest ancestors are clay whistles, the earliest models of which have been found in Africa and date to some 30,000 years ago.

Early vessel flutes similar to the ocarina have also been found across Asia, including the xun, an egg-shaped flute said to be roughly 7,000 to 9,000 years old that is still played today in China. These instruments are believed to have evolved from Stone Age hunting tools that people discovered made noise when air was blown through them. Some ancient ancestors of ocarinas have also been found in Europe. The oldest flute found in Europe is the “Runik Ocarina,” which was found in Kosovo and is thought to be around 8,000 years old. 

Modern ocarinas have roots in Central America. They may have originated in Costa Rica around 2000 BCE, and spread across the Mayan and Aztec Empires. They were often carved into elaborate shapes and served important roles in rituals, ceremonies, gatherings, and funerals. Aztec musicians visiting Spanish King Charles V in 1527 are believed to have introduced the ocarina to Europe, along with songs and dances that accompanied it. However, Europeans initially perceived these sacred instruments as simple toys.

Yet they were much more than that, as anyone who has heard the instrument's mystical sound can tell. “The material world—of earth, of trees, of stone, of clay—is reshaped by the human world,” Davíd Carrasco, Neil L. Rudenstine Professor of the Study of Latin America at Harvard Divinity School, told the Harvard Divinity Bulletin in a reflection on a collection of ocarinas at the Peabody Museum. “And out of that comes a third thing, which is music and sound and culture,” he continued. “So what we have here are a number of sort of miniatures—small, musical instruments—things made out of the earth. Music has a sacred power, and in some ways, it is timeless. People can hear ancient music thousands of years old, and yet it will resonate with them today. So it is with this collection of ocarinas.” 

The ocarina makes its way to Europe

The modern ocarina was invented in 1853 by a young Italian brickmaker named Giuseppe Donati, who created a version that could play melodies and scales inspired by the Mesoamerican models he encountered. He named his creation the “ocarina,” which means “little goose” in a regional Italian dialect. Donati created the Gruppo Ocarinistico Budriese, or the Budrio Ocarina Group, an ensemble dedicated to spreading the ocarina around the world. It remains active today.

In 1928, Japanese sculptor Takashi Aketagawa added two more holes to the top of the ocarina that Donati invented, creating the model that is still used today. It became well-known worldwide after the Japanese musician Nomura Sojiro used the instrument to compose music for the documentary The Great Yellow River in 1986.

How the ocarina made its way into video games

Still, the ocarina’s popularity was waning by the time it appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 1998. The game allowed players to compose songs on a digital version of the instrument and required them to use it to navigate various challenges.

“There are two prominent types of ocarinas: transverse and pendant,” Chicago composer Michael Barrera told WFMT. “The instrument depicted in Ocarina of Time is a transverse or sweet potato ocarina. It has 10 to 12 holes and is held off to the side, with fingerings that are mostly linear.”

Ocarinas soared in popularity after the release of Ocarina of Time in 1998, and Nintendo has released numerous special ocarinas tied to different milestones related to the game. Now, with the 2026 remake becoming the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch 2 game of all time, it’s likely that this instrument may see another wave of interest, and the world may hear more of its gentle, warbling call.