Pūngī

Unknown

19th century · Gourd, wood · Musical Instruments

A pūngī consist of two parallel single-reed pipes inserted into a gourd, which serve as a wind chamber. It is often used by a snake-charmer, who plays a melody on one pipe and a drone on the other. In India, there are several classification systems for musical instruments. One system, which has persisted since the 2nd century BC, comes from the Nātyaśātra, the first manual on dramaturgy, dance, and music. The European classification system was influenced by this Hindu system, which divides instruments into four categories: Śusira Vādya (winds), Ghana Vādya (bells & rattles), Anaddha Vādya (drums), and Tata Vādya (strings).

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Gourd, wood

Culture

Indian

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889