The sumui is one of the most ancient and commonly played instruments

Musical instrument

A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...

 in the musical tradition of Tripura

Tripura

Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...

. Sumui, is the most perfect and least mechanical of all the instruments. The sumui is very dear to the tribes of Tripura. It is made of bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

. There are two types of sumui, one having 7 (seven) holes and the other having 8 (eight) hole. Mostly found are two manipulator characteristic features:

a) Those held along the mouth

b) Those held across the mouth

Construction

Sumui is made of the hollow stem of a bamboo. The instrumentalist himself cuts the bamboo to a suitable length and putting the bamboo to his lips in a playing position determines the distances of the flute stops by simply putting his fingers to the position marking the places where the two fingers nearest to a bamboo node come down. The distance between them becomes the standard length and on ascertaining the whole position the marked areas are burned with a hot iron nail. In the final stage, a separate mark is scratched carefully in alignment with the stop-hole near the upper rim, at a distance of one finger-width for a rectangular notch, gradually sloped as per thickness of the stem. The marked area is cut with a knife.

See also

• Bansuri
  Bansuri
  The bansuri is a transverse alto flute of Bangladesh, India and Nepal made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with six or seven finger holes. An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha, and is...
  
  
• Venu
  Venu
  The venu is a bamboo transverse flute used in the Carnatic music of South India. Although it is often called Carnatic flute or simply flute in English, venu is the instrument's ancient Sanskrit name...
  
  
• Tripuri people
• Sarinda
  Sarinda
  A sarinda is a stringed Indian folk musical instrument similar to lutes or fiddles. It is played with a bow and has three strings. The bottom part of the front of its hollow wooden soundbox is covered with animal skin...
  
  
• Tripuri Dances
  Tripuri Dances
  The Tripuri people are the original inhabitants of the state of Tripura in North East India. The Tripuri people through the Royal family of the Debbarmas ruled the state of Tripura for more than 1400 years till the kingdom joined the Indian Union in 1949...
  
  
• Musical instruments of Tripura
  Musical instruments of Tripura
  The Tripuri people of North-East India and Bangladesh are very fond of music as their socio-cultural life is also closely interwoven with it. The Tripuri musical instruments and music of the Tripuri tribes attract due to its richness and depth of myths associated with the birth of the first note...