A ''qanbūs'' ( ar, قنبوس) is a short-necked

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can re ...

that originated in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and s ...

and spread throughout the

Arabian peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

. Sachs considered that it derived its name from the Turkic

komuz The komuz or qomuz ( ky, комуз , az, Qopuz, tr, Kopuz) is an ancient fretless string instrument used in Central Asian music, related to certain other Turkic string instruments, the Mongolian tovshuur, and the lute. The instrument can be ...

, but it is more comparable to the oud. The instrument was related to or a descendant of the barbat, a (possibly) skin-topped lute from

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the f ...

. The qanbūs has 6 or 7

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petr ...

strings that are plucked with a

plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...

to generate sound. Unlike many other lute-family instruments, the ''gambus'' has no

frets A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical instru ...

. Its popularity declined in Yemen during the early 20th century reign of Imam Yahya; by the beginning of the 21st century, the oud had replaced the qanbūs as the instrument of choice for Middle-Eastern lutenists. Yemen migration saw the instrument spread to different parts of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

. In Muslim Southeast Asia (especially

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malay ...

and

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

), called the gambus, it sparked a whole musical genre of its own. Nowadays it is played in the traditional dance of

Zapin , image = Zapin.jpg , image_size = , caption = Schoolchildren performing Zapin in Batu Pahat, Johor. , genre = , signature = , instruments = Gambus, Gendang, Marawis, Rebana , inventor ...

and other genres, such as the Malay and an ensemble known as ("gambus group"). In the

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. ...

it is known as ''gabusi'', and in

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

as ''gabbus''.

In Yemen and Oman

The qanbus is a traditional instrument from Yemen carved from a single block of wood. It is also played in Oman, where it is called gabbus. The lower half of the top is covered in skin, and the upper half has a wooden soundboard, often with small soundholes. It has a floating bridge, a sickle-shaped pegbox and usually 7 nylon or gut strings in 4 courses, with the lowest course single. There also exist 3-course versions, with 6 or 5 strings, though these are less common. The Yemeni lute has 7 strings in four courses, tuned low note to high C DD GG CC. The first C string is a single string; strings D G and C are all pairs. Image:Qanbuz.JPG, A ''qanbūs'' lute in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, with 6 strings organized into 3 pairs.

In East Africa

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands an ...

, a related instrument was called the Kibangala. It used to be built and strung in the same way as the Qanbus. In the

islands, a related instrument called the Gambusi is played, which is built in the same way but often has a flat-shaped pegbox, rather than the sickle-shape, and sometimes has a differently shaped soundbox. Both usually have 4 courses of strings, which can be double or single. Several structural nuances exist between the original design (

Anjouan Anjouan (; also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and historically as Johanna or Hinzuan) is an autonomous high island in the Indian Ocean that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. Its chief town is Mutsamudu and, , its population is around 277,500 ...

, Mwali) and the later avatars in

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is lo ...

. The corrupted pronouciations Gaboussi, Gabusi, or Gaboussa are also met in

, and obviously preaches for a joined etymology with the Kabosy chordophone in N-W Madagascar.

In Indonesia and Malaysia

The word ''gambus'' covers a variety of instruments, some with skin soundboards, some with wooden soundboards, some that are shaped like the

i ''quanbūs'', and some that are shaped like the Arabian '' oud''. The instruments may have 3, 4 or 5 courses of strings, plus a single base string. To avoid confusion, various descriptors are used in the names by academic researchers. In the

Malay world The Malay world or Malay realm ( Indonesian/ Malay: or ; Jawi: ), is a concept or an expression that has been used by different authors and groups over time to denote several different notions, derived from varied interpretations of Malayne ...

there are two types of : the and the . "" can be used to refer simply to either type of instrument. The instruments are different than the '' Hasapi'' boat lutes. The instruments were "transmitted" from the

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

to the

at an undermined time. Links to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

begin as early as the 5th-6th centuries C.E., with trading networks and occupation in the 15th century. Experts have tentatively given dates for the instruments' arrival between the 9th and 15th centuries C.E. In looking for origins, musicologists have also noted some similarities with the Chinese ''

pipa The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rang ...

''. The two types of likely arrived at different times; the likely arriving as the ''quanbus'' or '' barbat'' and developing over centuries. The likely developed in the 19th century after the arrival of the ''oud''. Some modern luthiers in Indonesia and

other countries Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

have begun to make hybrid instruments, combining the or ''dambus'' (?) with other instruments, such as the ud (

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

), the hawaian ukulele (

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and t ...

) or the bluegrass mandoline (

Lombok Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is ...

) The corrupted pronunciation dambus is met in Bangka Belitung Islands and also in a limited area from

Sukamara Regency Sukamara Regency ( id, Kabupaten Sukamara) is one of the thirteen regencies which comprise the Central Kalimantan Province on the island of Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia. The town of Sukamara is the capital of Sukamara Regency, which covers an ...

and Pangkalan Bun (Central Kalimantan). Elsewhere in Indonesia, some other well known corruptions are Gambusu and Gambusi, respectively observed in

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of ...

and

Gorontalo Gorontalo ( Gorontaloan: ''Hulontalo'') is a province of Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi. Located on the Minahasa Peninsula, Gorontalo was formerly part of the province of North Sulawesi until its inauguration as a separate province on 5 D ...

..In Lombok, the mandoline-shaped gambus - actually a vague, fretless copy of Gibson's A-type bluegrass mandoline - is also locally named Manolin which used to accompany Kemidi Rudat plays or Kecimol entertainment.

Gambus Melayu or gambus Hijaz

The is also known as the , , , , , and . It retains a shape similar to the original qanbūs. It has a skin soundboard. Tuning: :

, in most places:A₃ D₄D₄ G₄G₄ C₅C₅ :

Riau Islands The Riau Islands ( id, Kepulauan Riau) is a province of Indonesia. It comprises a total of 1,796 islands scattered between Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and Borneo including the Riau Archipelago. Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping ...

: G₃ D₄D₄ G₄G₄ C₅C₅ for wire strings or A₃ D₄D₄ G₄G₄ C₅C₅ for nylon strings : Eastern Sumatra: G AA B DD AA EE (double courses tuned in unison) :

: E₃E₃ A₃A₃ D₄D₄ or DD GG CC

Gambus Hadhramaut

The ''gambus Hadhraumaut'' is a gambus that resembles an oud. The name

Hadhramaut Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...

refers to Eastern Yemen, and this form of the instrument may have arrived in

(and a wider extent to another Malay world countries) with immigrants from there in the 19th century, joining Muslim communities already established centuries earlier. The bowl is made of light woods, the neck of a hardwood. It has a wooden soundboard. It is a fretless instrument with 11 strings in 6 courses, tuned low note to high: :(Notes in

scientific pitch notation Scientific pitch notation (SPN), also known as American standard pitch notation (ASPN) and international pitch notation (IPN), is a method of specifying musical pitch by combining a musical note name (with accidental if needed) and a number ide ...

) :Arab tuning for oud: C₂ F₂F₂ A₂A₂ D₃D₃ G₃G₃ C₄C₄ :Alternate for oud C EE AA DD GG CC :Circle of fifths: B₂ E₃E₃ A₃A₃ D₄D₄ G₄G₄ C₅C₅ :Circle of fifths: B EE AA DD GG BB :

Ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

: A, DD, GG, CC, FF, BbBb

Gambus Seludang

The Gambus Seludang was another name for the gambus Hijaz with a specific reference to its monoxyle (like boat constructed from a single piece of timber) structure. The name came with the revival in

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accor ...

and

. In

, this is similar in shape and size to the gambus Hijaz, but features a wooden resonator. Image:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Langhalsluit met vier snaren TMnr H-1690.jpg, 1871, an ancient originated from

. File:Yazid, gambus player in group Samrah Al-Mazikaty, painted by Yusoff Abdul Latiff.jpg, 2014. ''Gambus Hadhramaut''. File:Musician playing gambus Hadhramaut at the Zubir Abdullah's Cinta, Cipta & Citarasa workshop concert in Malaysia- 8 Aug 2010.jpg, 2010, Malaysia. Musician playing ''gambus Hadhramaut''. File:چند قنبوس جنوب شرق آسیایی.jpg, Myanmar. (top row from left): ''Gambus'' (or Indonesian: ''saludang bunta''), ''gambus Melayu'', ''gambus Hadhramaut'' and ''gambus Hadhramaut'' (bottom). File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Tokkelluit met zes snaren TMnr 1330-379.jpg, 1939 in

. ''Penting''. "''Panting''" is another word for the gambus Melayu in

South Kalimantan South Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Selatan) is a province of Indonesia. It is the smallest province in Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of Borneo. The provincial capital was Banjarmasin until 15 February 2022 when it was legally moved to Banj ...

. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Langhalsluit met zeven snaren TMnr 1043-1.jpg, 1936 in

Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island. Ha ...

. ''Gambus'' originated from

as the Tropenmuseum collection,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...

Similar instruments

Gittern The gittern was a relatively small gut-strung, round-backed instrument that first appears in literature and pictorial representation during the 13th century in Western Europe (Iberian Peninsula, Italy, France, England). It is usually depicted pl ...

– a medieval European instrument built in the same way, but with a completely wooden soundboard.

Sources

References

* Poche, Christian. "Qanbūs".
Grove Music Online
' (subscription required). ed. L. Macy. Retrieved on August 15, 2007.

* Charles Capwell,
Contemporary Manifestations of Yemeni-Derived Song and Dance in Indonesia
',

Yearbook for Traditional Music The ''Yearbook for Traditional Music'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on folk music and dance. It is published by the International Council for Traditional Music, once a year in December. The editor-in-chief is Kati Szego. ...

, Vol. 27, (1995), pp. 76–89 reg * Kinzer, Joe. "The Agency of a Lute: Post-Field Reflections on the Materials of Music." Blog post. Ethnomusicology Review: Notes from the Field. UCLA,2016.

External links

*
The Gambus Project