Musical Instruments of Mizoram

Drums

Khuang
(It is made of hollow tree, wrapped on both sides with animal skin.)

Khuangpui (Big drum),

Khuanglai (midium sized drum);

Khuangte (little drum)

Kawlkhuang (long drum)



Brass Gongs

Dar (Gong)

Darkhuang (Big Gongs)

Darbu (a set of three different sizes of brass-gongs, producing three musical notes played by three experts)

Darmang (the smallest type of gong.)

Bengbung (A Mizo indigenous instrument which has some simi­larity with xylophone. It is a musical instrument consisting of a series of flat wooden bars, producing three musical notes. Bengbung is usually played by girls it their leisure.)

Talhkhuang (It is made of three wooden pieces which are curved out, the depth of the curves being made vary so that the sound produced when beaten are different in notes. It is played with a wooden hammer.)

Seki (It is the domesticated mithun’s horn.)



Wind Instruments

Rawchhem (It is a kind of Scottish “Bagpiper” or Chinese “Snag”. Nine small Bamboo pipes or hollow reeds, Having different sizes and lengths are inserted to the dried gourd. One of the pipes serves as a mouth piece. Small portions of the pipes are struck out so that it can produce sound when the instrument is blown.)

Tumphit (It is made of three small Bamboos having different sizes and length. The types are tied and plated in a row with caves or strings. The upper ends are cut open at differet length so that each tube has different notes.)

Tawtawrawt (This is a Bamboo trumpet. Different sizes of bamboo tubes are cut off. The smaller tube is inserted to the bigger tube and so on. Many bamboo tubes are joined one after another till the last tube happens to be the size of a forefinger from where the trumpet is to be blown. A dry empty gourd, the bottom part is cut off and joined with bigger end of the bamboo tubes. The whole length can be more than five feet.)

Phenglawng (It is the Mizo flute made of bamboo. Originally, Phenglawng had only three holes producing three different sounds.)

Buhchangkuang (This is another flute made of reed or a paddy stalk. This simple instrument was usually played by girls.)

Hnahtum (The Mizo boys can skillfully turn leaves of many trees into simple but indigenous musical instruments.)



String Instruments

Tingtang (This is Mizo guitar. Mizo tingtang is a kind of fiddle or violin having only one string. A piece of bamboo shaft is fixed in the gourd to carry the string made of Thangtung, the fibre of the Malay Sago palm. The hollow gourd is cut open and covered with a dry bladder of animal.)

Lemlawi (Lemlawi is the family of Jew’s harp but the shape and size are different. It is made of small pieces of bamboo. From the piece of bamboo, the craftsman took out a small portion with knife for its string.)

Tuium dar (It is made of bamboo having three strings producing three different notes. From the outer covering of the bamboo, three pieces of cane like strings are curved out. The strings are then raised up by inserting two pieces of bamboo. It is played like a guitar.)