Description

The drangyen, or Bhutanese lute, is the oldest and most famous instrument from Bhutan. With its distinctive chusin shaped head (a sea monster designed to scare away any evil spirits attracted to its beautiful music), meticulously hand-carved body, and haunting, softly melodious sound, the drangyen embodies the unique musical tradition of Bhutan. Literally, its name means “hear the melody” (dra means “melody” and ngyen means “listen”). Many consider this fret-less instrument a difficult one to master.

The drangyen must be carefully rendered to create its unique sound. It is made from wood, leather and yak or ox bone. A typical drangyen is approximately 3-4 feet in length, with a diameter of 6-12 inches. It is played with a plectrum of triangular bone, wood, or horn. Seven strings are suspended over a resonance chamber and attached to a rounded stem at its base. The drangyen has two bridges, one over the belly and one at the neck. The former bridge is designed so that the six main strings create a buzzing sound when plucked.

Three sets of double strings are generally tuned to ‘G’ (pancham), ‘C’ (sadhaj) and ‘F’ (madhyam). In addition to these six strings, the drangyen has a supplementary string called ting ti, which is tuned to the higher octave ‘C’ (shadhaj). The ting ti is usually played as an open string to produce a drone/rhythm effect (chikari), but it can also be used as a normal melody string.

The drangyen is the main instrument used to accompany songs in Bhutan. Historians estimate that the drangyen dates back to the 8th century A.D. when the saint Guru Rinpoche brought Buddhism to Bhutan. In monastery murals and thangkhas (religious paintings), the Guardian Deity of the East, Sharchog Gyalpo, often holds a drangyen so that he can communicate without causing the destruction that would follow from using his fearsomely powerful voice. Lhamo Yangchenma, the Bhutanese goddess of music, also carries a drangyen.