musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
used during the
Rongali Bihu
Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu ( as, ব’হাগ বিহু বা ৰঙালী বিহু) also called ''Xaat Bihu'' ( as, সাত বিহু) (seven Bihus) is a traditional ethnic festival celebrated in the Northeastern Indian sta ...
festival in
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, India.Xobdo.org /ref> It can either be made from clay or the lower end of a
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
tree which is left after the main part falls or is cut off.
Description
The instrument is shaped like a half moon. It is believed that initially instruments of this type developed from the hard shells of fruits like
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
, and then similar shapes were made from potter's clay. These instruments imitate the sounds of animals and birds and produce a
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
-like sound. In ancient China a similar instrument was called a Xun.
History
The Xutuli is believed to be brought by the Sino-Tibetan groups mainly the Sadiyal Kacharis( Chutias, Deoris, Sonowals, Morans) who brought the instrument along with them from their ancestral lands.
The number of holes in the Assamese Xutuli indicates that the Sadiyal Kacharis probably arrived from the
Huang He
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
plains before 1600 BC, as the Xuns were standardised with five holes during the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
.
From the shape and sound of Xutuli, it can be deduced that this instrument imitates birds. In Assamese folk culture, people believe that the sound of Xutuli invites
rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
. The sound of Xutuli is also associated as the symbol of respectable hermits, lady in sorrow, or heroes at the end of their strength.
Use
In Bohag Bihu, Xutuli has an importance of its own. Initially, the cowboys (gorurokhiya lora) used Xutuli as a toy, because of ease of construction . Xutuli is played by both boys and girls in Bihu, but most importantly Xutuli is an indispensable part of Jeng Bihu and Bihuwati dances, and predominantly played by girls. Nowadays every Bihuwati is desired be an accomplished Xutuli player.