Instruments
The Susap mouth harp

The  "Susap" from Papua is a big mouth harp of the Buji province in Western Papua. This big bamboo mouth harp  can actually be found allover Papua and even sometimes in other parts of Indonesia. Playing the Susap is not easy: The left hand is holding the black wrapped tiny end between thumb and index finger, thus holding the sharp end of the tongue in front of the open mouth, between the lips of the player. The right hand pulls the handle attached to the chord quite hard, but otherwise than on other plucked mouthharps, the direction is not outwards but inwards.  This hand is also beating with a knuckle of the thumb on a special spot of the bamboo tongue to make it vibrate. This Susap is a special model made by Steev Kindwald

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