Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 10, 2026

Chiwang

The chiwang is a type of fiddle played in Bhutan. The chiwang, the lingm (flute), and the dramyen (lute) comprise the basic instrumental inventory for traditional Bhutanese folk music.

Last revised
Jun 10, 2026
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≈ 1 min
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Acho Namgyal playing piwang in 1937 source ↗

The chiwang (Dzongkha: སྤྱི་དབང་; Wylie: spyi-dbang)1 is a type of fiddle played in Bhutan.2 The chiwang, the lingm (flute), and the dramyen (lute) comprise the basic instrumental inventory for traditional Bhutanese folk music.1

Although the chiwang is considered typically Bhutanese, it is a variety of the piwang, a Tibetan two-stringed fiddle. It is heavily associated with boedra, one of two dominant genres of Bhutanese folk music, in which it symbolizes a horse.3

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Kinga, Sonam (2003). "The Attributes and Values of Folk and Popular Songs" (PDF). Journal of Bhutan Studies. 3 (1): 132–170. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  2. Dorji, C. T (1994). History of Bhutan Based on Buddhism. Sangay Xam; Prominent Publishers. p. 15. ISBN 81-86239-01-4. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  3. Clements, William M. (2006). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Folklore and Folklife: Southeast Asia and India, Central and East Asia, Middle East. Vol. 2. Greenwood Press. pp. 106–110. ISBN 0-313-32849-8. Retrieved 2011-10-16.