Musical Instruments of the
Assam add to the rhythm of the
festivals of the state. Assam is land of beautiful
culture and tradition. To enrich the culture of this land, the traditional music of different
tribes and sub-tribes of the state has played a major role.
Music is an integral part of Assam and there are various
musical instruments. It is the
music of Assam through which everybody celebrates any festival or occasion and that is why there are abundance of musical instruments available across the state.
A list of some of the popular musical instruments of the Assamese and also the Bodo people from the state are given below;
Gogona - Gogona is a type of Jew’s
harp, a reed instrument that is used for traditional music especially for
Bihu. The Gogona is made of a piece of
bamboo that has a bifurcation on one end. The solid end is gripped with teeth and the free end is struck repeatedly with fingers to emit the distinctive sound of the instrument.
Dhol - Dhol is an important part of the folk
culture of Assam. This
drum like instrument is used to maintain the merry rhythm of Bihu. People of Assam consider the Dhol to be the instrument of the
Gods.
Singa or Pepa - The Singa or Pepa is an integral part of Bihu and hence an integral part of Assamese culture. The word Singa has come from Sing or horn and is made of a buffalo horn with a bamboo pipe thrust into it.
Khol - Khol is also known as
Mridanga in
Bengali language. It is a terracotta two-sided drum for devotional music. The khol is an integral part of
Vaishnava music in Assam.
Tokari - The Tokari is a kind of
musical instrument with a single string which is played with fingers. It is mainly used for Tokari Geet.
Apart from these, there are musical instruments used by the
Bodo tribe that include the following;
Sifung - This is a long bamboo
flute having 5 holes.
Serja - It is
violin-like instrument that has a round body and the scroll is bent forward.
Tharkha - The Tharkha is a block of bamboo split into two halves for clapping.
Kham - Kham is a long drum made of wood and goat skin.
