The ''tsuur'' ( цуур, Mongolian), ''choor'' (Kyrgyz), ''chuur'' ( шоор, Tuvan), ''sybyzgy'' (Kazakh), or '' kurai'' (Bashkir) is an

end-blown flute thumb , Notched flute, showing U-shaped notch in the instrument’s rim. The end-blown flute (also called an edge-blown flute or rim-blown flute) is a woodwind instrument played by directing an airstream against the sharp edge of the upper en ...

of varying lengths that is common among Inner Asian pastoralists. In western

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

it is mainly used by the

Altai Uriankhai The Altai Uriankhai (; ) refers to a Mongol tribe around the Altai Mountains that was organized by the Qing dynasty. They now form a subgroup in western Mongolia and eastern Xinjiang. The Uriankhai people first appeared in the 7th century as ...

people, although other

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

s like the

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...

and the

Tuvans The Tuvans (from Russian ) or Tyvans (from Tuvan ) are a Turkic ethnic group indigenous to Siberia that live in Tuva, Mongolia, and China. They speak the Tuvan language, a Siberian Turkic language. In Mongolia, they are regarded as one ...

are known to play them or have played them. The ''tsuur'' has only finger holes. The blowing technique utilizes the teeth, tongue, and lips in the same way as the '' ney'' used in Persian classical music. The ''tsuur'' is usually immersed in water before playing in order to seal any leaks in the wood. The melodies that are played on the Tsuur are usually imitations of the sound of water, animal cries, and birdsongs as heard by shepherds whilst on the steppes or the mountain slopes of the Altai. One of the melodies, “The Flow of the River Eev,” represents the river where the sound of khöömii was mythically supposed to have originated. The Uriangkhai called the tsuur the “Father of Music”. A three-holed pipe was in use in Mongolia in the 18th century and was believed to possess the magical properties of bringing lamb’s bones back to life. In the Jangar epic of the 14th century, the tsuur is said to have had a voice like a swan. This reference may also be indirectly a very early reference to khöömii, as the singing style sung with the tsuur is known as Khailakh. Traditional Mongolian tsuur music was added to the

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...

in 2009.

References

External links

“Mongolian Tsuur” national programme approvedTraditional music of the Tsuur
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032543/http://www.ichcap.org/eng/contents/ich.php?mode=view&code=H0000080 , date=2015-09-24
Mongolia elected to UNESCO Committee
Mongolian musical instruments End-blown flutes Tuvan musical instruments Kazakhstani musical instruments Bashkir musical instruments Buryat musical instruments Altai musical instruments

See also

References

External links