Sneng


The Sneng is a reed aerophone, made from an ox horn or water buffalo horn and producing sound with a single free reed. Two different styles exist. The end-blown instrument has the tip of the horn cut off, with the reed inserted into that end. The tip then functions as the mouthpiece to blow a single note. The side-blown instrument has a hole in the side of the instrument's body, where a bamboo free-reed and a mouthpiece are fastened with wax. The reed there can be either blown or sucked to produce a tone. Each end of the instrument has holes that function as fingerholes to change the notes, tuned a fourth apart. The instrument was capable of two or three notes. The large hole can be covered with the player's palm, the small hole with a finger or thumb. The instrument is loud enough to call across a distance and has been used in rural environments to signal mealtimes, give warning, call for help or indicate a need to return to the village. It was also used to call domestic elephants in from the field, and hunters communicated with it.