The dramyin or dranyen is a traditional Himalayan folk music lute with six strings, used primarily as an accompaniment to singing in the Drukpa Buddhist culture and society in Bhutan, as well as in Tibet, Ladakh, Sikkim and Himalayan West Bengal. It is often used in religious festivals of Tibetan Buddhism. The instrument is played by strumming, fingerpicking or plucking. The dramyen, chiwang (fiddle), and lingm (flute) comprise the basic instrumental inventory for traditional Bhutanese folk music.
A Nepalese Dranyen, called a tungna (Nepali: टुङ्ना).
Bhutanese dranyen at the ethnography museum, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
A dranyen (centre) in the Horniman Museum, London, UK.
Tibetan street-musician
The music of Bhutan is an integral part of its culture and plays a leading role in transmitting social values. Traditional Bhutanese music includes a spectrum of subgenres, ranging from folk to religious song and music. Some genres of traditional Bhutanese music intertwine vocals, instrumentation, and theatre and dance, while others are mainly vocal or instrumental. The much older traditional genres are distinguished from modern popular music such as rigsar.
Monks playing lingm at Lhuentse Dzong
Bhutanese dranyen
Monks playing dungchen, Dechen Phodrang monastic school, Thimphu