Dambura
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- Not to be confused with tambura, a stringed instrument of the lute family.
The dambura (also danbura) is a plucked string instrument, part of the lute family, played mainly in northern Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.[1] There are two types of it, known as the Turkestani and Badachstan damburas. They are both wooden. The dambura is shaped very much like a guitar, though the dambura is fretless. [2]It is a popular folk instrument, particularly among the Hazara people. Among the famous Afghan dambura players is Safdar Tawakoli.
The dambura's body and neck are carved hollow from a single block of wood, and the Turkestani dambura's neck is usually made from mulberry or apricot wood. The body is short compared to the neck. There is a tiny sound hole in the back of the instrument, while the top, which is where its strings run, is thick wood. It is not finished with any varnish, filing/sanding of any kind, and as with all other Afghan instruments there is some decoration.[2]
The strings of the dambura are made of nylon (in modern times) or gut, and there are 2 of them on each instrument. They are connected to individual pegs on the end of the neck, and goes on a short bridge to a pin at the other end of the body.[2]
The dambura is played with much banging and scratching on the instrument to help give a percussive sound.[2]
