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The ransingha or ransinga is a type of primitive trumpet made of copper or copper alloys, used in both India and Nepal. The instrument is made of two metal curves, joined together to form an "S" shape. It may also be reassembled to form a crescent. It is part of a group of curved-tube instruments that include the ransingha, the narsinga and the
sringa The Sringa, also known as tutari, ranasringa, blowhorn, sig, singa, kurudutu or kombu, is an ancient Indian musical instrument. It is a type of horn wind instrument. Construction There are two shape types of bugles, one made in "S" shape, and the ...
. It may also be related to the laawaa and Tibetan
dungchen The Tibetan horn or dungchen (; mn, hiidiin buree, script=Latn; ) is a long trumpet or horn used in Tibetan Buddhist and Mongolian buddhist ceremonies. It is the most widely used instrument in Tibetan Buddhist culture. It is often played in pai ...
, both straight tubular copper horns.


Alternate names

The instrument's name has been variously spelled narsinga, ransingha, ramsinga, and srnga. Srnga is ''Sanscrit'' for horn and used in North India and Nepal. Its modern forms include "''Sig''", "''Siga,''", and "''Singha''". The term was historically used for a wide variety shapes and sizes of horns, including straight horns, and horns made from water buffalo horns with mouthpieces made from ox horns.


Ramsingha

The ramsinga is a pronunciation specific to India. It uses four pipes of very thin metal which fit one within the other. It is mentioned in
Emilio Salgari Emilio Salgari (, but often erroneously ; 21 August 1862 – 25 April 1911) was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante ...
's works such as '' The Mystery of the Black Jungle'' (1895), where it is associated with the
thugee Thuggee (, ) are actions and crimes carried out by Thugs, historically, organised gangs of professional robbers and murderers in India. The English word ''thug'' traces its roots to the Hindi ठग (), which means 'swindler' or 'deceiver'. Rela ...
cult. In Chapter 62 of ''
Foucault's Pendulum ''Foucault's Pendulum'' (original title: ''Il pendolo di Foucault'' ) is a novel by Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco. It was first published in 1988, and an English translation by William Weaver appeared a year later. ''Foucault's P ...
'' (1988) the ''Ramsinga'' is also mentioned, being played by a devotee of a druidic sect .


Narsinga

Played historically in C shape in Nepa by
Damai Damai ( ne, दमाइँ) is an occupational caste found among Khas people. They comprise 45 subgroups. Their surnames take after the subgroup they belong to. People belonging to this caste are traditionally tailors and musicians. They are ade ...
caste musicians in groups such as the ''damai baja''. This form used in
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
,
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
and southern
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Ben ...
. File:PancheBaaja.jpg, Nepal. The C-shaped narsinga is part of the
Panche baja The following purported languages of South America are listed as unclassified in Campbell (2012), Loukotka (1968), '' Ethnologue'', and ''Glottolog''. Nearly all are extinct. It is likely that many of them were not actually distinct languages, onl ...
instruments. File:Narsinga at Hindu wedding ceremony.jpg, Nepal. Narsinga being played for a wedding. File:Nepali Hindu Wedding (6).jpg, Nepal. Narsingas at a wedding party.


See also

*
Karnal Karnal ( is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. It was used by East India Company army as a refuge during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Delhi. The Battle of Karnal between ...
, a long strait trumpet *
Sringa The Sringa, also known as tutari, ranasringa, blowhorn, sig, singa, kurudutu or kombu, is an ancient Indian musical instrument. It is a type of horn wind instrument. Construction There are two shape types of bugles, one made in "S" shape, and the ...


References


External links


History of the ransingha or narsinga with photos.

Ancient musical instruments of India (circa 18th Century) as depicted by Balthazar Solvyns in Les Hindoûs (Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, IGNCA)
Natural horns and trumpets Music of Himachal Pradesh Culture of Uttarakhand Folk music instruments Indian musical instruments Trumpets of Nepal Indian inventions {{Brass-instrument-stub