End-blown horn
Vernacular Name
- Dhulu neku
- Neku
ALTERNATE NAME(S)
- Animal horn
Date1900-1925 ca.
Place MadeNepal, Asia
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsnone
DescriptionThis instrument is made of a water buffalo horn that has been hollowed and embellished with copper and silver with inset coral and tourquoise stones. The sea dragon (makara) is made of silver repoussé in stunning detail. Chased scales adorn the entire head of this open-mouthed mythical beast, complete with tourquoise eyes. The copper cuffs and bell include Buddhist auspicious symbols.
The neku horn is crucial to rituals associated with death, the afterlife and rebirth within Newari Buddhist and Hindu worldviews. The Newar people, also referred to as Nepami, traditionally inhabited the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. Proximity to the cultural and religious (as if these could be distinguished) influences of Hindu and Buddhist traditions have resulted in a syncretic system of beliefs, which also likely includes elements of pre-existing traditions from the region.
According to Greene (2002), "the neku is played primarily, although not exclusively, as both a ritual duty and a privilege of neighborhood-based communities of Manandhars." This caste in Newar society has the occupation of oil pressing. In particular, the playing of the neku solo or in ensembles made up of a variety of sizes (based on the animal from which the horn comes - buffalo, goat or sheep) is associated with the holy month of Gunla.
DimensionsLength: 460 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1977 from H. M. Lissauer, Melbourne, Australia.
Published References"Nepalese Horn Acquired," Shrine to Music Museum, Inc. Newsletter 6, No. 1 (October 1978), p. 4.
Cross, Thomas E., Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand and Tibet, SMM Catalog Vol. II (1982), p. 18.
Cross, Thomas E., Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand and Tibet, M.M. Thesis, University of South Dakota, May 1983, p. 80, plate XXVIII.
Credit LinePurchase funds gift of Mrs. Clark Y. (Ethel) Gunderson, 1977
Object number02352
On View
Not on view
1850 ca.
1850 ca.
1960 ca.
1875 ca.
