ANGKLUNG is a musical instrument consisting of two to four bamboo tubes suspended in a bamboo frame, bound with rattan cords.  The tubes are carefully whittled and cut by a master craftsperson and tuned to produce specific resonant notes when shaken or tapped.  Each angklung produces a single note or chord, so several players must collaborate in order to play melodies.

Originating in what is now West Java and Banten provinces in Indonesia, angklung has been played by the Sudanese for many centuries, and is a part of their cultural identity.  Today it is popular throughout Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Playing the angklung as an ensemble or orchestra requires cooperation and coordination, and is believed to promote the values of teamwork, mutual respect and social harmony.

On November 18, 2010, UNESCO officially recognized the Indonesian angklung as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and encouraged the Indonesian people and the Indonesian government to safeguard, transmit, promote performances and to encourage the craftsmanship of angklung.

In 2017, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia generously donated a substantial set of angklung instruments to Yale’s Indonesian Language program and Council on Southeast Asia Studies.  In February and March 2017, Ms. Tricia Sumarijanto from the House of Angklung in Washington, DC, provided a series of angklung instruction sessions for Yale students and members of the Yale community, hosted in Peabody2.  It is hoped that this will be the first of many opportunities for Yale and the New Haven communities to discover, play, and perform angklung.

Visit the >> House of Angklung website to learn about the making of angklung instruments, and for videos of angklung performances.

Photos from Peabody2