Plucked box zither used in Sundanese areas of West Java. The name is derived from the Sanskrit kacchapī vīnā. The kacapi may have a boat-shaped wooden frame (kacapi parahu) or a more box-like structure made of wooden planks, in both cases with metal strings stretched lengthwise over the soundboard. The strings are fixed at one end to metal or wooden pins and attached at the other to tuning-pegs; fine tuning is achieved by adjusting the movable wooden pyramids over which each string passes. The strings are plucked with the nails and flesh of combinations of thumb, index and middle fingers. The kacapi indung (‘mother zither’) usually has 18 strings, while the smaller, higher-pitched kacapi rincik has 15 strings. Both kacapi are used in the tembang Sunda ensemble, together with suling, in the accompaniment of sung poetry. The kacapi-suling ensemble is a derived recorded genre, featuring the metrical songs of tembang Sunda but without the vocal component.
The larger kacapi is also featured in the epic narrative genre pantun, in which a blind male vocalist accompanies himself. The 20-string kacapi siter is the central element of kacapian, a modern ensemble which can feature a variety of instruments including violin (biola), guitar (gitar) and even a gamelan in the accompaniment of kawih vocal music. (See also Indonesia, §V, 1(ii)(d).)
The kucapi in Minangkabau is a similar instrument.
MARGARET J. KARTOMI/R