MACHUNGA

MACHUNGA in Sikkim

Material: Steel

This musical instrument is cast in steel. The provenance of this instrument is linked to South India but some of the machunga made either of copper or iron is easily available in the shops around Gangtok. The feature of this musical instrument resembles a trident. The thin central strip is regularly tapered and tensioned with a bent tip. The Central strip is fixed at the round metal of thick dimension which is open at one point with two tapered arrowheads issuing from both the ends. The Machunga is a popular folk musical instrument and very commonly played by South Indian Musicians. In Sikkim, proper machunga is played by the village folk when they go to work. Three arrowheads of the Machunga are drawn on the lips with slightly touching the teeth and with the finger, the central string is softly beaten. The Machunga is a rhythmic instrument and is played with taal. Nowadays Machunga is recognized as a musical instrument and its notes and scales are being developed. In the famous dohori music of Nepal, Machunga often accompanies Madal and other instruments.