Been or Bin, also known as the pungi, is a wind instrument that is generally played by snake charmers in the Indian sub-continent. This instrument - Been; is quite similar to the Chinese Hulusi, but the latter has two reed pipes called the "Jivala". The instrument was later improved upon to make the Shehnai. Pungi is a wind instrument that originated in India and is still played by snake charmers during the street performances. Been is generally available in all music instrument shops and books that deals with General Knowledge stuffs. This is a type of instrument that is conventionally being used by people as a typical form of occupation and is continued in village places even in the present times. Been is still used by many as a form of livelihood, as they earn money organizing snake shows by attracting them out of the holes.
History of Been
History of been goes a long way, as it was developed as an Indian folk music instrument. It is also important for music and religious purposes in India. The pungi was a famous in the Badagutittu about fifty years ago. However, prior to this it derived from Indian Folk Music and was used for religious purposes for snake charming.
Physical Description of Been
A Pungi or Been
Been is conventionally made from dried bottle gourd. Most often, the neck of gourd is carved for reasons related to aesthetics. On the other hand, however, two reed or bamboo pipes are connected. These are also called the Jivala. One of the pipes has seven holes and plays the melody; the other pipe is for the drone. Here the Jivala is fitted with the beewax, which can be adjusted for the modification of pitch.
Function of Been
In case of Indian musical practises, it is often seen that music coincides with religious views. An example would be the comprehensive practice of mantra incantation, which, can be defined as meaningful and/or meaningless syllables used to create prayer to a supernatural force or deity. The Been, or Indian snake charmer, is believed to be one of the many avenues in which one can communicate with the gods through devotional genres. The Been is played without any pauses, so the Been Players use a technique called circular breathing.
