a stringed musical instrument consisting of a large bamboo tube (15 cm diameter; 1.5 m long). Originally the tube and strings were made from one piece, the strings being created by slicing a thin triangular strip of the outer dense surface of the bamboo and driving bridge wedges under the strip. As in the Japanese koto, the strings were all the same "diameter" and length, with tuning performed by placement of the bridges.

The scale is discontinuous around the tube, with the fundamental (e.g., C) in the center, dominant triad to the right (C E G), subdominant to the left (F A C), with harmonically related notes continuing to meet at the back of the tube, where they were separated by a sounding slot.

Contemporary versions use steel strings, still all of the same diameter, and still tuned by bridge placement.

No similar instruments are known from Africa; the closest relatives are in South East Asia.