A visit to a Nepali murchunga (Jew’s harp) player in Ilam, Eastern Nepal.
In a village near Ilam in Eastern Nepal, I met Chandra Maya Rungmangma, one of the few remaining murchunga players in this region of the country. She is now 62 years old, wife of Nanda Bahadur Limbu from the Sangrumma village. As we were seated outside their traditional farmhouse, overlooking the lush green paddy fields, groups of banana trees and bamboos, she told us about her memories from her youth with the murchunga and also the binayo, the Nepali bamboo Jew’s harp with a string. When they were young, they used to gather in the morning or in the evening, some played and some danced to the tunes that we played. She recalls that with the murchunga, they could easily play about fifteen or sixteen tunes or songs before getting tired. However, while playing the binayo, they would get tired after only one tune. According to her, the Rai and other tribes used to play the murchunga or the binayo when they took their cattle to graze on the fields. Now, she can no longer easily play the murchunga and the binayo, since her tongue is getting stiff. I showed her a Norwegian murchunga, and at the first glance she commented that it was made with a fault, it had no tail. Besides, these instruments are too large for her. She needs the small Nepali murchunga to play properly. Nevertheless, she produced some nice tunes when I requested her to play. I asked her why she no longer had a murchunga. It was broken after some friends borrowed it from her, she replied. The binayo however, she keeps in a secret place. She even hesitated to show it to me!
Svein Westad
p.t. Music teacher,
Nepal Music Centre, Kathmandu.
In a village near Ilam in Eastern Nepal, I met Chandra Maya Rungmangma, one of the few remaining murchunga players in this region of the country. She is now 62 years old, wife of Nanda Bahadur Limbu from the Sangrumma village. As we were seated outside their traditional farmhouse, overlooking the lush green paddy fields, groups of banana trees and bamboos, she told us about her memories from her youth with the murchunga and also the binayo, the Nepali bamboo Jew’s harp with a string. When they were young, they used to gather in the morning or in the evening, some played and some danced to the tunes that we played. She recalls that with the murchunga, they could easily play about fifteen or sixteen tunes or songs before getting tired. However, while playing the binayo, they would get tired after only one tune. According to her, the Rai and other tribes used to play the murchunga or the binayo when they took their cattle to graze on the fields. Now, she can no longer easily play the murchunga and the binayo, since her tongue is getting stiff. I showed her a Norwegian murchunga, and at the first glance she commented that it was made with a fault, it had no tail. Besides, these instruments are too large for her. She needs the small Nepali murchunga to play properly. Nevertheless, she produced some nice tunes when I requested her to play. I asked her why she no longer had a murchunga. It was broken after some friends borrowed it from her, she replied. The binayo however, she keeps in a secret place. She even hesitated to show it to me!
Svein Westad
p.t. Music teacher,
Nepal Music Centre, Kathmandu.
