Dungchen, Tibetan horn that sounds haunting, yet musical

Exploring these sounds will be in the interest of research related music or culture

Dungchen horns

Wikimedia (Deutsches Bundesarchiv)

In Tibet music is everywhere and it acts on living beings in many ways. Dungchen (the Tibetan horn) is a long trumpet that we see in Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies. It is the most widely used instrument in Tibetan Buddhist culture. Moreover they play it in pairs or multiples.

Sounds of the nature – the flowing water, the whistling wind, the roaring avalanche – merge with the human-made music and chanting in soundscapes that are intimately interconnected. For instance the sound of Dungchen is similar to the singing of elephants. The tune of the trumpet sounds haunting yet musical.

These sounds exists and is in use for centuries

While the spiritual features and healing powers of Buddhist ritual music is part of many studies. However perhaps less known is the kaleidoscope of natural and human sounds. Moreover these sounds exists and is in use for centuries. Hence it is of course interesting for a student or researcher to explore some of these sacred soundscapes, their history and impacts.

Image source: Wikimedia (Bodhisattwa)

Here the sound of Dungchen

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Mayesh Babu

Mayesh hails from Ernakulam, Kerala, India. He is an avid movie watcher and a photography enthusiast. He observes various types of music with a great interest in South Indian classical music and temple art forms of Kerala. He currently lives in Leuven, Belgium.