Dendung

Extract

Struck idiochord raft zither of Assam, north-east India. About 17 thin bamboo canes, each with an epidermal strip excised but still attached at the ends, are bound side by side to form a long rectangle. Two canes are inserted, at right angles, beneath the strings some distance from the ends, and the strings are further divided into different lengths by two more canes, inserted diagonally as bridges. A light stick serves as a beater. Together with the related gintang, the dendung is typical of the Southeast Asian cultural pattern of this area. Examples in South Asia proper, however, have been found, and Sachs (1914) illustrated a very similar raft zither found among the Khondhs of Orissa, but without naming it.