
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. It may also be related to the laawaa and Tibetan
dungchen, 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's works such as ''
The Mystery of the Black Jungle'' (1895), where it is associated with the
thugee 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 ...
'' (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 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 ma ...
,
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 peak ...
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 ...
.
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, only ...
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 betw ...
, a long strait trumpet
*
Sringa
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