Materials
string instrument
ICH Materials 189
Photos
(35)-
Kyrgyz musical instruments
Kyrgyzstan
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Performance on national musical instruments
Kyrgyzstan
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Karean Harp (Nar Dane or the kind of string instrument)
The body of the harp is made of good quality Padauk wood. It is not as same as the Myanmar Harp because it is curved in the shape of the hull of a boat. The arm of the harp is made of PJn:ma (kind of large timber tree/ larger stroemiaspecion). The floral scroll-work is curved at the top of the arm and the square shape of the peg is used to tune the strings of harp. The reed of the harp is made of cutch wood. The body of young cow’s skin is covered the body of sound body. There are nine harp strings that are put on it. The creeper strings and the cane strings were yarned together as the harp strings which were used in the past time. Nowadays, steel strings are put on as the harp strings. When making the Karean harp ,first, go to the deep forest and make offering consisting of hands of bananas, coconut etc. The harp is made to be finished in the forest. Before putting the strings on it, it has to be made to gain magical power using star-flower, jasmine, the rock dammar flower, the frangipani flower, the vachellia flower (kind of fragrant flower) and the tiger-lady (species of orchid ). After making the harp, women don’t touch and hold it to make it more magical power according to Karean’s Tradition or custom. \nThe playing method of the Karean Harp is easy and simple. It can be easily learned to play by hearing musical scale up and down when the skillful player is playing it. After tuning the harp strings, it is held tenderly to the bosom. Left hand is placed with five or six strings for opening and closing tunes. The rest of one to four strings have to be played with the right thumb and forefinger.
Myanmar -
Lute,Karean Kha Na Lute (kind of string instrument)
Good quality of wood is chopped and smoothened. The top and body of the wood is curved. The top of wood has to be bored five holes that are called Nat ThaMee holes (hole in the body of harp). The holes of the body are plugged with wood flat, zinc flat and bamboo flat. It is better if it is covered with leather. Three strings are put on it. The plectrum is made of plastic or bamboo. According to the melody, three strings of the arm of the lute have to be pressed with the right hand and the left hand holds the plectrum and the plays the strings to produce the song. In the past, when young unmarried boys wanted to fall in love with a young unmarried girls but they didn’t dare to say anything to her, they expressed their feeling as song and rhetorical compositions or prosodies by playing Karean lute.Nowadays,it is played together with the other instruments. It has to be played at Karean traditional festivals, Karean plays and Union day ceremony.\n-35 inches in length\n-11 inches in the sound body\n-20 inches in the arm\n-5 inches in the plectrum
Myanmar -
Mak Yong
Mak Yong Traditional Theatre is normally portrayed as a Malay dance drama that contains acting, dancing and singing. There is a consensus that Mak Yong originated from the ancestry of the Kelantan-Patani Government, and said to have established around 400 years ago at the Malay sultanate palace of Kelantan-Patani. Then it spred to the states of Terengganu and Kedah after which it settled at Serdang Muda, Sumatera and Riau Islands, Indonesia. A Mak Yong traditional performance does not use lots of props, set and background to portray a scene. Its performance structure is permanent and uniform although the storyline is different. A traditional performance in villages is held in an open theatre. The audiences sit on three sides while the fourth side is for musicians. Most characters are acted by women and the storylines are based on traditional folk stories. The Buka Panggung (literally translated as ‘Opening the Theatre’) ceremony starts a performance followed by the story plot and ends with the Tutup Panggung (or ‘Closing the Theatre’) ceremony. In the Buka Panggung ceremony the performance begins with the Mengadap Rebab segment, that is paying homage to the rebab (oud), the main musical instrument regarded as a chaste element in a performance. The actor who plays the Peran Tua character, that is the Elder Joker, pays homage to the oud and places it in the middle of the theatre while Jong Dongdang sings the song ‘San Gendang’. The actors who play the characters of Pak Yong, Mak Yong and Jong Dongdang stand in a circle while the maidens sing the song ‘Sedayung Mak Yong’ or the song ‘Sedara’. At the end of the song Pak Yong instructs the maidens to return to the palace, and this marks the end of the segment. The main characters are Pak Yong, Mak Yong, the King, Queen, Elder Joker and Junior Joker. There are also other characters like the Royal Soothsayer, Ship Captain, Guru, soldiers, genie, ghost and giant, depending on the storyline. The main musical instruments are a three-string oud, two drums and two gongs. There are also additional instruments to increase the degree of the melodious sound like cymbal, small bells and flute. In the year 2005 Mak Yong was recognised and proclaimed as “A Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by the United Nation Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). In the year 2008 Mak Yong was proclaimed as A Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Malaysia -
Mak Yong
Mak Yong Traditional Theatre is normally portrayed as a Malay dance drama that contains acting, dancing and singing. There is a consensus that Mak Yong originated from the ancestry of the Kelantan-Patani Government, and said to have established around 400 years ago at the Malay sultanate palace of Kelantan-Patani. Then it spred to the states of Terengganu and Kedah after which it settled at Serdang Muda, Sumatera and Riau Islands, Indonesia. A Mak Yong traditional performance does not use lots of props, set and background to portray a scene. Its performance structure is permanent and uniform although the storyline is different. A traditional performance in villages is held in an open theatre. The audiences sit on three sides while the fourth side is for musicians. Most characters are acted by women and the storylines are based on traditional folk stories. The Buka Panggung (literally translated as ‘Opening the Theatre’) ceremony starts a performance followed by the story plot and ends with the Tutup Panggung (or ‘Closing the Theatre’) ceremony. In the Buka Panggung ceremony the performance begins with the Mengadap Rebab segment, that is paying homage to the rebab (oud), the main musical instrument regarded as a chaste element in a performance. The actor who plays the Peran Tua character, that is the Elder Joker, pays homage to the oud and places it in the middle of the theatre while Jong Dongdang sings the song ‘San Gendang’. The actors who play the characters of Pak Yong, Mak Yong and Jong Dongdang stand in a circle while the maidens sing the song ‘Sedayung Mak Yong’ or the song ‘Sedara’. At the end of the song Pak Yong instructs the maidens to return to the palace, and this marks the end of the segment. The main characters are Pak Yong, Mak Yong, the King, Queen, Elder Joker and Junior Joker. There are also other characters like the Royal Soothsayer, Ship Captain, Guru, soldiers, genie, ghost and giant, depending on the storyline. The main musical instruments are a three-string oud, two drums and two gongs. There are also additional instruments to increase the degree of the melodious sound like cymbal, small bells and flute. In the year 2005 Mak Yong was recognised and proclaimed as “A Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by the United Nation Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). In the year 2008 Mak Yong was proclaimed as A Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Malaysia -
Rakhine Si Do (Rakhine Royal Drum)
By using Rakhine Royal Drum was found at the period of Visali of the king of Chandra. At the time of king Chandra, the lyrical ode of the crown-princess Saw Pyae Nyo was played with the various kinds of instruments. Long-drum and Than-Lwin-drum contained in this instruments.In the Myanmar era of 897 ( 1535 AD) when was called Lay Myoe Age, King Min Bar built Yan Aung Zaya Chittaung stupa with a vaulted vase. Rakhine oil lamp dance, Shawl dance, Powewar dance, the sports of Mrauk.U period such as the posture of wrestling, boxing, the stick martial art and the figures in the posture of playing the Rakhine musical instruments such as the Rakhine Duelong Harp, bamboo pipes wind instrument, melodious small drum, hand-cymbals, cymbals၊ horn, long drum, Marlakhon fiddle, the bugle , the cymbal and the flute were sculpted as the ancient supporting evidences of Rakhine long drum on the western wall of the second tunnel of Shittaung pagoda.. Rakhine nationality mostly used long-drum. According to the ceremony, the drum which is used to celebrate pagoda festival is called Mu-Yoe Drum. Pan-taja drum is used for the wedding ceremony and the ceremony of propitiate nats. Khat- Ttin drum is used for the funeral ceremony . Si- Byaw( kind of long drum ) is used to play the novitiated ceremony. One- headed drum is used for ceremony of pulling gharry. Kyin-drum is used for the posture of wrestling. There are fourteen kinds of Rakhine drum. They are Mhyaut drum, Than-Lwin drum, Mu-Yoe drum ( Si-Pyaw ), Singal-headed small drum, Big drum (Shan si) , Donmin drum , Si Pataung drum, Si wun drum , Melodious small drum, One-headed drum, Pan:taya: si drum, Pat Si drum (Kyin si), Si chay drum, Si ai drum. According to the song, it can be played with hands. The song which produces the sound of Byane from cow skin and the sound of harp from goat skin. It can be played not only hand but also stick. Rakhine royal drum is played together with cymbals, gong, jingle bell and conch-shell.\nPadauk wood is used to make the body of Rakhine royal drum and the either sides of two drumheads are covered with cow-skin and goatskin. The Padauk wood has to made hollow and the either side of cow skin and goat skin are tightly stretched on the drum heads. Both two drumheads can be played. The leather must be tightly tied with the string of gunny twine. \n-2 feet 3 inches in Length\n-3 feet 5 inches in the girth\n-1 feet in the diameter of drumhead (site of cow skin)\n-11 inches in the diameter of drumhead ( site of goat skin)
Myanmar -
Kyam (Crocodile Zither)
The crocodile-shaped zither was one of musical instruments that Pyu delegation performed in China in AD 802 as part of cultural exchange programme. Michael Sign, one of members of Eastern India Company delegation visited King Bodaw Phaya in 1795, wrote about this musical instrument in his book. There are two types of crocodile zithers, of which one must be played with fingers and other with plectrum. The 3-stringed Crocodile Zither must be played with plectrum by strumming with the right hand, and fretting and plucking the strings with left hand. The first and third strings are tuned to LayPauk (Fourth Note), while the second string to ThanHman Tapauk (First Note).\nThe fine wood must be smeared with mud and left dry by itself. After it becomes well seasoned, it is curved into the shape of crocodile. The body must be made hollow. There is a sound hole underneath in which the sound is resonated. The three strings are stretched from its head to tail. There are two tuning pegs on the jaw of crocodile. The sound hole and the tuning pegs lie in different position. The strings are made of silk or nylon or alloy. Thirteen wooden frets are placed with the use of beeswax under the strings.\n-68 inches in length\n-7.5 inches in breadth\n-10.5 inches in height\n-17.5 inches in circumference
Myanmar -
Art of making traditional Kazakh dombra
Dombra is a traditional Kazakh musical instrument and object of material culture. The origin оf the name 'dombra' is associated with the activities of the voodoos ('baqsy', 'qam') - the shamans. It is believed that the prototype of the current dombra originated 4000 years ago.\nThe magic formula 'dem bura' translates as "tune the breath", "revive (turn off) the instruments embodies the principle of assimilation of a living creature. In the process of evolution has acquired a stable dombra aesthetic function, form and substantive nature.\nDombra consists of two strings (sometimes three and four string) is pear-shaped with a thin elongated neck and head with two pins. The tool is designed to accompany the singing and play kuys. Masters use two methods of manufacturing dombra: traditional and modern.
Kazakhstan -
Art of making traditional Kazakh dombra
Dombra is a traditional Kazakh musical instrument and object of material culture. The origin оf the name 'dombra' is associated with the activities of the voodoos ('baqsy', 'qam') - the shamans. It is believed that the prototype of the current dombra originated 4000 years ago.\nThe magic formula 'dem bura' translates as "tune the breath", "revive (turn off) the instruments embodies the principle of assimilation of a living creature. In the process of evolution has acquired a stable dombra aesthetic function, form and substantive nature.\nDombra consists of two strings (sometimes three and four string) is pear-shaped with a thin elongated neck and head with two pins. The tool is designed to accompany the singing and play kuys. Masters use two methods of manufacturing dombra: traditional and modern.
Kazakhstan -
Art of making traditional Kazakh dombra
Dombra is a traditional Kazakh musical instrument and object of material culture. The origin оf the name 'dombra' is associated with the activities of the voodoos ('baqsy', 'qam') - the shamans. It is believed that the prototype of the current dombra originated 4000 years ago.\nThe magic formula 'dem bura' translates as "tune the breath", "revive (turn off) the instruments embodies the principle of assimilation of a living creature. In the process of evolution has acquired a stable dombra aesthetic function, form and substantive nature.\nDombra consists of two strings (sometimes three and four string) is pear-shaped with a thin elongated neck and head with two pins. The tool is designed to accompany the singing and play kuys. Masters use two methods of manufacturing dombra: traditional and modern.
Kazakhstan -
Art of making traditional Kazakh dombra
Dombra is a traditional Kazakh musical instrument and object of material culture. The origin оf the name 'dombra' is associated with the activities of the voodoos ('baqsy', 'qam') - the shamans. It is believed that the prototype of the current dombra originated 4000 years ago.\nThe magic formula 'dem bura' translates as "tune the breath", "revive (turn off) the instruments embodies the principle of assimilation of a living creature. In the process of evolution has acquired a stable dombra aesthetic function, form and substantive nature.\nDombra consists of two strings (sometimes three and four string) is pear-shaped with a thin elongated neck and head with two pins. The tool is designed to accompany the singing and play kuys. Masters use two methods of manufacturing dombra: traditional and modern.
Kazakhstan