Kangling on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''Kangling'' (), literally translated as "leg" (''kang'') "flute" (''ling''), is the Tibetan name for a 
A minor figure from Katok Monastery, the First Chonyi Gyatso, Chopa Lugu (17th – mid-18th century), is remembered for his "nightly bellowing of bone-trumpet
''Kangling'' (), literally translated as "leg" (''kang'') "flute" (''ling''), is the Tibetan name for a trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
or horn made out of a human tibia
The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...
or femur
The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg.
The Femo ...
, used in Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
for various chöd
Chöd ( lit. 'to sever') is a spiritual practice found primarily in the Yundrung Bön tradition as well as in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism (where it is classed as Anuttarayoga Tantra in Kagyu and Anuyoga in Nyingma). Also ...
rituals as well as funerals performed by a chöpa. The leg bone of a deceased person is used. Alternatively, the leg bone of a respected teacher may be used. The kangling may also be made out of wood.
The kangling should only be used in chöd rituals performed outdoors with the chöd damaru and bell. In Tantric chöd
Chöd ( lit. 'to sever') is a spiritual practice found primarily in the Yundrung Bön tradition as well as in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism (where it is classed as Anuttarayoga Tantra in Kagyu and Anuyoga in Nyingma). Also ...
practice, the practitioner, motivated by compassion
Compassion is a social feeling that motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is sensitivity to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based ...
, plays the kangling as a gesture of fearlessness, to summon hungry spirits and demons so that she or he may satisfy their hunger and thereby relieve their sufferings. It is also played as a way of "cutting off of the ego."
A minor figure from Katok Monastery, the First Chonyi Gyatso, Chopa Lugu (17th – mid-18th century), is remembered for his "nightly bellowing of bone-trumpet angling
Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...
and shouting of phet" on pilgrimage, much to the irritation of the business traveler who accompanied him. Chopa Lugu became renowned as "The Chod Yogi Who Split a Cliff in China (rgya nag brag bcad gcod pa)."
See also
*Gyaling
The ''gyaling'' (, English: also spelled , , , , , , etc.), literally "Indian trumpet", is a traditional woodwind instrument used in Tibet. As its name indicates, it is the Chinese double reed Suona horn (much like the Iranian sorna) used mainl ...
References
Natural horns and trumpets Tibetan Buddhist ritual implements Tibetan musical instruments Femur Tibia Trumpets of Nepal {{Brass-instrument-stub