Tanbūra (lyre)

For other uses, see Tanbur (disambiguation).

The tanbūra or "Kissar" is a bowl lyre of East Africa and the Middle East. It takes its name from the Persian tanbur via the Arabic tunbur (طنبور), though this term refers to long-necked lutes. The instrument probably originated in Upper Egypt and the Sudan in Nubia and is used in the Fann At-Tanbura in the Persian Gulf Arab States. It also plays an important role in zār rituals.

Tanbūra In Cairo, played by a Nubian, 1858.

According to ethnomusicologist Christian Poché, it has been played in "Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, North Yemen, Southern Iraq and the Gulf States."

In Sudan, the tanbūra (or tanbur) is also called a rabāba. The North Sudanese version is typically 5 stringed with a larger size, while the ones from the South and the Nuba hills usually have 6 strings and are smaller in size. Theyre decorated with colorful beads, tassels, charms, cowrie shells, plastic fruit, and small mirrors. The rabāba player is called a sanjak, and plays it by holding it with his left hand, aided by the support of a strap. The fingers (and in the case of 6 stringed versions, palm) of the left hand rest on the strings from behind. The right holds a plectrum made of bulls horn called a garin. Sound is made by plucking strings with the plectrum and moving fingers to create "free strings" (strings with fingers pressed against them have their sound dampened). The bottom rests on the ground, legs, or arm depending on size (here from biggest to smallest).

See also

• Krar

External links

• Celebrating the Sudanese lyre: a special performance. Video by the British Museum on YouTube

• Webpage on tanbura and other string instruments from Oman Centre for Traditional Music
• The Tambura
• The zar and the tumbura cults
• Sudanese lyre audio samples