Mi gyaung

Mi gyaung
	Mi gyaung, 19th century
String instrument
Classification	String instrument (plucked)

The mi gyaung (

Burma. It is associated with the Mon people. Both Burmese and Mon names also mean 'crocodile.'^[1]^[2]

Tube zither of Myanmar, carved of wood in the shape of a crocodile with extended head and tail. It has three metal strings which pass over eight to ten raised movable frets on the flat top of the instrument and fasten to tuning pegs near the tail. This zither is related to similar instruments distributed widely in Southeast Asia. While the crocodile shape is not always found elsewhere, the reptilian name remains in variants such as the Thai čhakchē (‘alligator’, wooden tube zither) and the Indonesian and Philippine kacapi (box zither). In southern Myanmar the mí-gyaùng is associated with the Mon (who know it as kyam), an ethnic people linguistically related to the Mon-Khmer of Thailand and Cambodia.

The instrument's body is made of wood that is carved out on the underside like a

jakhe, the plectrum is not tied onto the right index finger, but instead simply held in the hand. Tremolo

technique is often used. The instrument has a buzzing sound because the strings are raised just off the flat bridge by a sliver of bamboo or other thin material such as plastic.

It is similar to the Thai

krapeu (takhe), and Indonesian/Filipino kacapi.^[3] However, while the mi gyaung has realistic zoological features, its Thai and Cambodian relatives' animal forms are much more abstract.^[4]

A kyam at the Mon Buddhist Temple in Fort Wayne, Indiana
A demonstration of the Mon crocodile zither

References

^ Burmese-English Dictionary. Rangoon: Dept. of the Myanmar Language Commission, Ministry of Education, Union of Myanmar. 1993.
^ Shorto, H.L. (1962). A Dictionary of Modern Spoken Mon. London: Oxford University Press.
^
ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0
.

^ Terry E. Miller (2008). Thailand. Routledge. p. 130. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

External links

Listening

Kyam (mi gyaung) audio samples (track 6)

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[1] Burmese-English Dictionary. Rangoon: Dept. of the Myanmar Language Commission, Ministry of Education, Union of Myanmar. 1993.

[2] Shorto, H.L. (1962). A Dictionary of Modern Spoken Mon. London: Oxford University Press.

[:0-3] 
ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0
.

[4] Terry E. Miller (2008). Thailand. Routledge. p. 130. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

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