Jakhe
Encyclopedia
The jakhe is a plucked zither
used in Thai music. It is made of wood in a stylized crocodile
shape and is approximately 20 cm high and 140 cm long. Its highest two strings are made of silk yarn or nylon and lowest is made of brass. It has raised frets made of bamboo, which are affixed to the fretboard with wax or glue.
The player uses his or her left hand on the fretboard while plucking the string by his right hand with a tapered plectrum made from ivory or water buffalo horn, which is tied to the player's index finger. The instrument has a buzzing sound because the strings are raised just off the flat bridge by a sliver of bamboo or other thin material such as plastic.
The jakhe is similar to the Cambodia
n krapeu
(takhe), the Burmese mi gyaung
. and the Mon
kyam
.
Zither
The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
used in Thai music. It is made of wood in a stylized crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
shape and is approximately 20 cm high and 140 cm long. Its highest two strings are made of silk yarn or nylon and lowest is made of brass. It has raised frets made of bamboo, which are affixed to the fretboard with wax or glue.
The player uses his or her left hand on the fretboard while plucking the string by his right hand with a tapered plectrum made from ivory or water buffalo horn, which is tied to the player's index finger. The instrument has a buzzing sound because the strings are raised just off the flat bridge by a sliver of bamboo or other thin material such as plastic.
The jakhe is similar to the Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n krapeu
Krapeu
The krapeu is a crocodile-shaped fretted floor zither from Cambodia with three strings.The word krapeu means "alligator" or "crocodile" in the Khmer language. It is probably the most recent of the Khmer classical instruments. The takhe usually has three to five legs supporting it...
(takhe), the Burmese mi gyaung
Mi gyaung
The mi gyaung is a crocodile-shaped fretted, plucked zither with three strings that is used as a traditional instrument in Burma. It is associated with the Mon people, who call it kyam....
. and the Mon
Mon people
The Mon are an ethnic group from Burma , living mostly in Mon State, Bago Division, the Irrawaddy Delta, and along the southern Thai–Burmese border. One of the earliest peoples to reside in Southeast Asia, the Mon were responsible for the spread of Theravada Buddhism in Burma and Thailand...
kyam
Kyam
The kyam is a crocodile-shaped fretted floor zither with three strings, used in the traditional music of the Mon people of Burma.The instrument's body is made of wood that is carved out on the underside like a dugout canoe. It has approximately 13 raised wooden frets that are diatonically rather...
.