Chakhe

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A thai chakhe

Chakhe ( Thai จะเข้ , pronunciation: [t͡ɕāʔkʰêː] , also spelled jakhe or ja-khe ) or krapeu ( Khmer ក្រពើ ; also called takhe , តាខេ , takhe , takkhe or charakhe ) is a zither used in traditional Thai music and music Cambodia uses. The chakhe has three strings plucked with a plectrum and a fretboard with frets . The shape is reminiscent of a highly abstract crocodile , from which the name of the instrument is derived. The Thai and Cambodian instruments are almost identical.

Cambodian krapeu player (accompanied by cup drums, skor daey )

The chakhe is about 20 cm high and 130–132 cm long, its sound box and the mostly attached neck are made of hardwood . In terms of instruments, there is a combination of box zither and lute instrument . The latter classification is reinforced by the presumed origin of the Thai long-necked lute phin or the North Indian string lute mayuri vina . The “head section” is 52 cm long, 28 cm wide and 9–12 cm deep; the "tail" is 81 cm long and 11.5 cm wide. It has eleven (Thailand) or twelve (Cambodia) frets made of bone , bamboo , ivory or wood, the height of which is graduated between 2 and 3.5 cm and which are attached to the fingerboard with wax or glue. The two higher strings are made of silk thread , catgut or nylon, the lowest one is made of metal. The strings are tuned to the notes C – G – c . The instrument usually stands on three or five feet. The player sits next to the instrument, gripping with the left hand. To pluck, the player holds a 5 to 6 cm long cone-shaped pick made of bone, ivory or water buffalo horn with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand .

Portrait of a Krapeu player in the Cambodian Royal Palace, 1880.

In the Thai musical tradition, the chakhe can be traced back to the 14th century (early Ayutthaya period ). It is part of a Mahori ensemble; In Khmer music , the krapeu belongs to the comparable Mohori . Among the classic Khmer instruments, the takhe is believed to be the most recent addition. It was allegedly taken over from Thailand.

The name chakhe is derived from the Thai word chorakhe ( จระเข้ ), which means "crocodile". The word krapeu also means “crocodile” in the Khmer language.

Chakhe and krapeu are related to the tubular zither mi gyaung ( kyam ) of the Mon in southern Myanmar , which, however, has the more realistic animal shape of a crocodile and not just its abstract form. There is another relationship to the East Asian vaulted board zithers (cf. wagon ) and to the boat-shaped Javanese zither kacapi , which is played while sitting on the floor.

Individual evidence

  1. Terry E. Miller, Sam-Ang Sam: The Classical Musics of Cambodia and Thailand. A Study of Distinctions . In: Ethnomusicology . tape 39 , no. 2 , 1995, p. 229–243 , here p. 232 .
  2. ^ A b c David Morton: The Traditional Music of Thailand . University of California Press Location = Berkeley et al. a., 1976, p. 92 .
  3. a b c d e f Terry E. Miller: Thailand . In: Terry E. Miller, Sean Williams (Eds.): The Garland Handbook of Southeast Asian Music . Routledge, New York / Abingdon (Oxon) 2008, pp. 121–182 , here p. 130 .
  4. a b c d e Sam-Ang Sam: The Khmer People of Cambodia . In: Terry E. Miller, Sean Williams (Eds.): The Garland Handbook of Southeast Asian Music . Routledge, New York / Abingdon (Oxon) 2008, pp. 85–120 , here p. 95 .