Mi gyaung

The mi gyaung or kyam is a crocodile-shaped fretted, plucked zither with three strings that is used as a traditional instrument in Burma. It is associated with the Mon people. Both Burmese and Mon names also mean 'crocodile.'

Tube zither of Myanmar, carved of wood in the shape of a crocodile with extended head and tail. It has three metal strings which pass over eight to ten raised movable frets on the flat top of the instrument and fasten to tuning pegs near the tail. This zither is related to similar instruments distributed widely in Southeast Asia. While the crocodile shape is not always found elsewhere, the reptilian name remains in variants such as the Thai čhakchē (‘alligator’, wooden tube zither) and the Indonesian and Philippine kacapi (box zither). In southern Myanmar the mí-gyaùng is associated with the Mon (who know it as kyam), an ethnic people linguistically related to the Mon-Khmer of Thailand and Cambodia.