Anklong

/ˈæŋklɔːŋ/ noun

Definition

A traditional two-stringed musical instrument from Southeast Asia, particularly from Cambodia and Thailand, played by plucking or striking the strings.

Etymology

From Khmer "ཀង់ឡូង" or Thai related terms. The word entered English through ethnomusicological documentation of Southeast Asian traditional instruments during 20th-century cultural study.

Kelly Says

The anklong has a haunting sound that vibrates for minutes after you strike it, and it's believed in some Southeast Asian cultures that the sound carries prayers to the spirit world—so it's kind of a spiritual instrument and a musical one at once.

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