The tumbi or toombi ( pa, ਤੂੰਬੀ, pronunciation: ''tūmbī''), also called a tumba or toomba, is a traditional musical instrument from the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

of the northern

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 high-pitched, single- string plucking instrument is associated with

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 ...

of Punjab and presently very popular in Western Bhangra music. The tumbi was popularized in the modern era by the Punjabi folksinger

Lal Chand Yamla Jatt Lal Chand Yamla Jatt (28 March 1910 – 20 December 1991) was a noted Indian folk singer in the Punjabi-language. His trademark was his soft strumming of the tumbi and his turban tying style known traditionally as "Turla". Many consider him to ...

(1914-1991). In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s many Punjabi singers adopted the tumbi, notably

Kuldeep Manak Kuldeep Manak, also spelled as Kuldip Manak (born Latif Mohammed Khan; 15 November 1951 – 30 November 2011), was an Indian singer best known for singing a rare genre of Punjabi music, ''kali'', also known by its plural form ''kalian'' or kali ...

, Mohammed Sadiq,

Didar Sandhu ''Didar Sandhu'' ( pa, ਦੀਦਾਰ ਸੰਧੂ) was a noted Punjabi folk singer and songwriter from Punjab, India. He used to tie a turban on stage. He mostly sang duets with various noted Punjabi singers like Surinder Kaur and Amar Noorie. ...

Amar Singh Chamkila Amar Singh Chamkila (21 July 1960 8 March 1988) was an Punjabi singer and musician of Punjabi music. Chamkila and his wife Amarjot were killed, along with two members of their band on 8 March 1988 in an assassination which remains unresolved. ...

, and Kartar Ramla. Other users include Punjabi Sufi singers such as

Kanwar Grewal Kanwar may refer to: __NOTOC__ People Surname * Amar Kanwar (born 1964), Indian artist * Anita Kanwar, Indian actor * Indira Kanwar (c. 1696 – 1793), Mughal empress * Narendra Kanwar, Indian politician * Raj Kanwar (c. 1961 – 2012), Indian film ...

and

Saeen Zahoor Saieen Zahoor Ahmed or Ali Saain Shafiu ( Punjabi: سائیں ظہور, born 1936) is a leading Punjabi Sufi musician from Pakistan. He has spent most of his life singing in Sufi shrines, and didn't produce a record until 2006, when he was nom ...

. The instrument is made of a wooden stick mounted with a gourd shell resonator. A single metallic string passes across the resonator over a bridge and is tied to a tuning key at the end of the stick. Players strike the string with a continuous flick and retraction of the first finger to produce sound.

Use in Western music

*'' Get Ur Freak On'', a 2001 hit single by Missy Elliott produced by

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

, saw the introduction of the distinct tumbi sound into the popular mainstream music scene. *'' Mundian Ton Bach Ke Rahin (Beware of Boys)'' from

Panjabi MC Rajinder Singh Rai (Punjabi: ਰਜਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ), better known by his stage name Panjabi MC, is a British-Indian recording artist, rapper, producer and DJ. He is best known for the worldwide 2002 bhangra hit "Mundian To Bach Ke", ...

, a huge hit in the UK charts, is perhaps the most widely known example of the use of tumbi in popular Western music. *'' 20 Inch'' by

Master P Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...

(featuring Jamaican reggae artist

Cutty Ranks Philip Thomas (born 12 February 1965), better known as Cutty Ranks, is a Jamaican dancehall singer. Biography Thomas was born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica in 1965. He began his career as a reggae artist at the age of eleven with local sound s ...

and rap artist

Kobra Khan Kobra Khan is a fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise. He is a member of the Evil Warriors, and a cross between a man and a cobra, who has the power to spray a "sleep mist" from his hood which immediately renders his oppo ...

) included tumbi played by Toronto, Ontario, Canadian native Shawn Ramta (grandson of the famous Punjabi folk singer, Hazara Singh Ramta). *'' Baby Doll me Sone di'' features tumbi throughout the song.

Players

* Mohammed Sadiq *

Manmohan Waris Manmohan Waris (born 3 August 1967) is an Indian Punjabi folk/pop singer. He is the elder brother of record producer Sangtar and singer Kamal Heer. Waris is considered one of the most gifted singers of Punjabi folk music. Career Manmohan Waris ...

Sarbjit Cheema Sarbjit Singh Cheema (Punjabi: ਸਰਭਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਚੀਮਾ) is an Indian-Canadian actor and singer who sings in the Punjabi language. Early life Sarbjit Singh Cheema was born in the Jalandhar district of Punjab, India into a ...

* Sukshinder Shinda *

Sukhwinder Panchhi Sukhwinder Panchhi (or Sukhwinder Singh) is a Punjabi Singer-songwriter. Discography References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panchhi, Sukhwinder 1968 births Living people ...

Sangtar Sangtar Heer, more commonly known as just Sangtar, is a Punjabi singer, music composer, songwriter and poet. He has written songs and made music for many singers such as Kamal Heer, Manmohan Waris and Debi Makhsoospuri. His older brother Manmoh ...

Use in Western music

Players

See also

References

Further reading