Dear Patrick and other Indologists, The kangling (rkang gling) is a human thigh bone trumpet used most prominently in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition known as Chö (gcod) meaning "Severance." If I remember right, Andrea Loseries wrote a book on bone ritual implements in Tibetan Vajrayana, and Ayesha Fuentes recently wrote an important dissertation on Himalayan Buddhist ritual implements made from human bones.
Allow me some time to find the exact citations and I'll send them along to you shortly. *Sincerely,* *Westin Harris* Ph.D. Candidate Study of Religion University of California, Davis https://religionsgrad.ucdavis.edu/people/westin-harris <https://religions.ucdavis.edu/people/westin-harris> 2021 Dissertation Fellow, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies Sarva Mangalam. On Tue, Apr 8, 2025 at 9:42 PM patrick mccartney via INDOLOGY < [email protected]> wrote: > Dear Friends, > > Denzil Ibbetson’s (1883, 127) report of the Punjab census mentions the > necromancy, exorcisms and magico-acrobatic displays performed by Buddhist > lámas, who also used flutes made from human thigh bones. > > I'm wondering if anyone has more information about human bones used as > musical instruments. > > Thanks, > > Patrick > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >
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