These two remarkable horns were offered at a past QBO sale from the estate of a musically-oriented Corvallis couple who traveled extensively. Both horns were made in the Himalayas – Tibet or possibly Nepal. They are religious articles used in Buddhist rituals, although a similar shell-based horn is also used in India by practicing Hindus.
The shell incorporated into this horn is a Conch, a name given to several species of large marine snails eaten as food where they are native. Conch do not live in the rivers of the Himalayan mountain range which is over 500 miles from the ocean, so the shell was an expensive item acquired through trade. The red coral cabochon centering the flower was also traded for. The metal is not silver but base metal alloys mixed to resemble silver. A dragon snaking across a botanical background completes the decoration. These horns, called Sankha or Dung-Dkar and sometimes referred to as trumpets in English, are used in rituals and ceremonies. The conch shell is one of the 8 auspicious symbols of Buddhism and may be among the oldest. When blown the conch sounds in all directions, symbolizing the spread of the teachings of Buddha, purifying the area and warding off evil to bring peace and harmony.
The long trumpet is called a Kangling from the Tibetan words “kang” (leg) and “ling” (flute); ‘flute made from a leg’ – a human tibia or femur bone. Like the conch trumpet this one also is decorated with dragons winding around its silvery trim. A chunk of turquoise, also a trade good not native to the area, adds to its preciousness. The metal loops were once attachments for a carrying cord. The tradition of using the bones of revered ancestors for holy, ritual purposes predates Buddhism in the region and is believed to stem from the practice of ‘sky burials’.
With the ground too rocky and frozen to bury the dead and heating and cooking fuel at a premium, bodies were instead left in high places to be picked over by birds and then the remaining cleaned bones were recovered by the family. Once people converted to Buddhism, the kangling was adapted as a method for compassionate holy men or women to call hungry spirits and even demons to them so that they could free the tortured beings from their sufferings. These rituals are only performed outdoors, at night, by the bravest holy practitioners who sometimes accompany themselves on a small drum called a Damaru, made from the top of a human skull. The trumpet is held in the left hand, which is the hand of wisdom, while the drum is held in the right. Their music embodies the duality of life and death.
It is, however, unlikely this particular kangling is made from real human bone. (Whew.) Religious articles made of human bones are holy, revered, and rare, much like the relics of Saints cherished in Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity. The individuals whose bones were incorporated into Buddhist religious articles are known, by name and reputation, to the people using them for sacred rituals. Holy personages such as monks or great teachers are not to be casually sold to tourists so the most likely contributor here is the Tibetan Yak, a versatile bovine domesticated since the stone age that serves the Himalayan region as draft and pack animal, and steed, while providing milk, meat, blood, horn, leather, wool, and dung patties for fuel. Yak bone is widely used to make jewelry, buttons, combs, tools, and ritual items. For a local craft person astutely discerning a tourist market for the controversial and costly kangling, yak bone would be a natural go-to. You’ll also be relieved to hear they make wooden ‘leg flutes’, too.
Tuesday Treasures was started by our staff member, Jeanne Lusignan. Each week she will be featuring items that have been found at our estate sales. If you would like to submit a treasure for Jeanne to feature in a future installment of “Tuesday’s Treasures”, please follow the button below and send us an email! Please attach a few photos of your treasure in a beautiful setting as well as any details you have about your item such as manufacturer, use, age, region of origin. If you don’t know about the piece, that’s okay! We still might be able to research it for you! Don’t forget to tell us what makes this item such a treasure to you!