hakgediya
The hakgediya is a type of conch shell (the shell of a large marine gastropod mollusk) which is used as a kind of trumpet in the traditional ritualistic music and religious folk art-music of Sri Lanka, which has been somewhat influenced by Indian music. The hakgediya is an aerophone, or Susira (wind instrument or aerophone in the language of Pali). This instrument was used mainly in Theravada Buddhist artistic rituals which also involved other categories of instruments such as Ghana, Avanaddha, and Tat (idiophones, membranophones and chordophones respectively).
hakgediya
- Field
- musical instrument
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wikidata · Q5640442 · wikipedia · Hakgediya
In this article
Performance Rituals
The hakgediya is not used to perform melodic variation or to be the main instrument in the ritualistic pice. The variance found in the notes emitted by the hakgediya is in dynamic range (volume), as the player can choose to blow soft or loud, with a sharp or smooth attack, sustain, decay and release. In traditional Buddhist art music rituals, the main instruments are the drums pertaining to the Avanaddha category, the hakgediya is more of an accompaniment. This has to do with the Sri-Lankan belief that rhythm emanates from Brahma's teeth clashing. The hakgediya is used in the ritual in honor of the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), right after chanting the Astakas, Sahali, and Curnikas which ensures blessings to all Gods. After the blessings, the hakgediya is blown three times in three cycles, along with auspicious drumming.
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Hakgediya, revision 1145170245 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Monks, Priests and Peasants. Brill Archive
- 2.Seneviratna, Anuradha. Pañcatūrya Nāda and the Hēwisi Pūjā. Ethnomusicology. University of Illinois Press. 23. 1. 49–56. January 1979. 10.2307/851337.
- 3.Manoj Peiris - Hakk Gediya. YouTube. March 8, 2010.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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