The khonkhota or ponputu is a stringed instrument from
San Pedro de Buenavista,
Potosí
Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world at a nominal . For centuries, it was the location o ...
, Bolivia. It is now played in much of the surrounding region also. It has flowers decorating the soundboard, which symbolise fertility. The name roughly translates as
harmonics
A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...
, and it often only has five frets, which alternate between black and white wood. It is usually very rustically made.
It has eight strings in five courses and is tuned G4 G3, C4, D4 D3, A3, D4 D4. The strings are made of steel, or a mix of nylon and steel.
References
{{Reflist
External links
PacowebCharango.ch
Charangos