Dombra
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The dombra is a long-necked stringed instrument possessing a wooden resonating chamber, somewhat similar to a banjo or a lute, and especially popular in the Central Asian nations.
The dombra is played by either strumming with the hand, or plucking each string individually, with an occasional tap on the main surface of the instrument. While the strings are traditionally made of metal or sinew, modern dombras are usually produced using nylon strings.
It is a traditional instrument of Central Asia, and is especially popular in such countries as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, as well as by Kazakhs living in China. The Uzbek dombra is usually unfretted, while the Kazakh dombra is constructed with frets.
The Kazakh poet Abay Qunanbayuli is often shown holding a dombra at rest. In fact, the instrument is a very traditional one, and many hold it in high regard as a symbol of nationalism among the post-Soviet nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The dombra is also the signature instrument of Kazakh instrumentalist Asylbek Ensepov and Ulytau band.
There are a number of similar instruments that differ very little from the dombra described here. Turkmenistan has the dutar. Tajikistan has the dombura.
[edit] Dumbira (Bashkir)
Together with the other musical instruments of the Bashkir people the dumbira has won its own well-deserved position. A dumbira is an ancient stringed instrument played by plucking. The modern wooden dumbira has a pear-shaped or an oval form. The length is about 80 centimeters. There are three metal or tendon strings. A performer strikes all the strings at the same time. The upper string performs the bourdon tone and the lower string performs the melody. A dumbira is used as a solo as well as an ensemble instrument. The information about the dumbira has come to us from ancient times. In the 12-18 centuries the dumbira was used by the Bashkir sasans to accompany their poetic legends and kubairs. There are some lines about a dumbira in the epic poem "Zayatulyak and Hiuhiliu". However, by the beginning of the 20 century, the performing a dumbira was forgotten. The names of the famous dumbira performers were forgotten too.
The scientists have made a link between the disappearance of the dumbira and the Bashkir insurrections. The sasans were the main ideologists of the insurrections. Their poetic words inspired the Bashkirs to fight with their colonizers. So, when the colonizers put down a rising, they punished the sasans and destroyed their dumbiras. But people in the far villages saved the dumbira and kept the secret of making the instrument. They used birch or willow wood and goat's guts to make the dumbira. The Bashkir dumbira is shorter than the Kazakh dombra and has three strings. Nowadays, the performer V. Shugayupov works on the revival of the dumbira.
[edit] See also
- tambura (a type of string instrument)
- domra (a similarly pronounced Russian string instrument)
- kobyz (a bowed instrument, played like a cello)
- shan-kobyz (similar to a jew's harp)
- sibizghi (a flute-like instrument)
- baglama
- dutar
- Çiftelia
- Music of Central Asia
[edit] External links
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