The pungi (Hindi: पुंगी, ur, پُنگیپُنگی, Burmese: ပုန်ဂိ), originates from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. The instrument consists of a reservoir into which air is blown and then channelled into two reed pipes. It is played with no pauses, as the player employs

circular breathing Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...

. In street performances, the pungi is used for

snake charming Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnotize a snake (often a cobra) by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerous ...

History

The pungi is an Indian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

instrument that is mostly played by cobra charmers in

Sindh, Pakistan Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of ...

, and

Rajasthan, India Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. The instrument is made from a dry hollowed

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and ''Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earli ...

with two bamboo attachments. It is also a double-reed instrument. The pungi is played by Jogi in the

Thar desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's Li ...

. It was theorized that it was made not just for snake charming, but to make people enter a half-conscious state as part of a religious practice. It is in particular played by snake charmers, mostly in the

Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, to arouse snakes to dance. The instrument has a high, thin tone and continuous low humming. It has been an important instrument in Indian folk culture and is known by various names in different parts of India. In northern India, it is known as the been, tumbi, and bansi; in the southern India, it is known as the magudi, mahudi, pungi, and pambaattikulhal.

Construction

The pungi is constructed from a solid coconut cover, to which pieces of bamboo are joined, and has two components: a hollow vessel constructed from a gourd, and two pipes, each with a free-beating single reed (jivala) similar to the reeds of a ''

mijwiz The ''mijwiz'' ( ar, , DIN: ''miǧwiz'') is a traditional Middle East musical instrument popular in Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. Its name in Arabic means "dual," because of its consisting of two, short, bamboo pipes with reed tips p ...

'', with eight to nine finger holes. The player blows air through the top tube-like portion of the instrument. One pipe makes drone-like sounds. and the other produces the

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

. The pipe that produces the melody has seven holes and a range of one octave. The drone pipe only has one hole. Traditionally, both sounds are played simultaneously using circular breathing to create a hypnotic effect. The pungi is usually played solo, as it is difficult to play it with other instruments.

Ban on snake charming

The instrument was often used to entertain the public with snake charming. However, this practice was eventually banned throughout the country in 1991, under the

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established scheduled pr ...

References

External links

Cobra Dance at Negombo Beach
{{Single reeds Indian musical instruments Pakistani musical instruments Single-reed instruments

History

Construction

Ban on snake charming

See also

References

External links