AN GIANG (VNS)— An Giang Province's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Committee for Ethnic Minority has gifted to local Khmer pagodas 20 sets of Khmer traditional musical instruments used in pinpeat ensembles played in pagodas.

The ensembles perform ceremonial music for royal courts and temples, and they play nine to 12 instruments like ranard ek (lead high-pitched bamboo xylophone), kong vong thom (large circle of gongs), skor thom (two big drums), and sralai thom (large quadruple-reed flute).

The beneficiaries include 12 pagodas in the districts of Tri Ton, Chau Thanh, Tinh Bien, Thoai Son, and Chau Phu.

There are 65 Khmer pagodas in the province, but only three of them have the instruments required for a pinpeat ensemble. — VNS