The dombra, also known as dombyra (; ) is a long-necked musical

string instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

used by 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 ...

Hazaras The Hazaras (; ) are an ethnic group and a principal component of Afghanistan’s population. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan. Hazaras al ...

Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...

Tajiks Tajiks (; ; also spelled ''Tadzhiks'' or ''Tadjiks'') is the name of various Persian-speaking Eastern Iranian groups of people native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Even though the term ''Tajik'' ...

, Nogais,

Bashkirs The Bashkirs ( , ) or Bashkorts (, ; , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group indigenous to Russia. They are concentrated in Bashkortostan, a Republics of Russia, republic of the Russian Federation and in the broader historical region of B ...

, and

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

in their traditional

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. The dombra shares certain characteristics with the

komuz The komuz or qomuz ( , , ) 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 found in Turkic ethnic groups, ...

and dutar instruments, such as its long, thin neck and oblong body shape. It is a popular instrument mostly among Turkic communities in Central Asian countries.

Varieties

The instrument differs slightly in different regions. The Kazakh dombyra has frets and is played by 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 sinew, modern dombras are usually produced using nylon strings. One of the greatest dombra players was the Kazakh folk musician and composer Kurmangazy Sagyrbayuly, who had a major influence on the development of Kazakh musical culture, including music for the dombra; his musical composition "Adai" is popular in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and abroad. In 2012, the ''elektrodombyra'' was created. The Hazara, Turkestani, and Badakhshani , commonly found in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, are fretless with a body and neck carved from a single block of wood, usually

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinat ...

or apricot. The is played with much banging and scratching on the instrument to help give a percussive sound. The two strings are made of

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

(in modern times) or gut. They cross a short

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

to a pin at the other end of the body. There is a tiny sound hole in the back of the instrument, while the top is thick wood. It is not finished with any

varnish Varnish is a clear Transparency (optics), transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not to be confused with wood stain. It usually has a yellowish shade due to the manufacturing process and materials used, but it may also be pigmente ...

, filing/ sanding of any kind, and as with all other Turkic instruments there is some decoration. 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 is used as a solo as well as an ensemble instrument.

History

The dombyra first appeared in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. For example, the works of Aby Nasyr Al-Farabi refer to a tambur-like musical instrument similar to the dombyra. An instrument similar to the Dombyra existed in almost every country in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. Within the last century, there have been many great composers and Dombyra players, such as Kurmangazy, Kazangap, and Tattimbet. The importance of the dombra in the culture of Kazakhstan was marked by including it in the Intangible Heritage register. In November 2014, ''Dombra kuy'' was included in was registered as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. In 2018, Kazakhstan initiated the Dombra Day. The National Dombra Day is celebrated in Kazakhstan every first Sunday of July.

Dombra in ensemble and epic performance

The Kazakh poet Abay Qunanbayuli is often shown holding a dombra at rest and many hold it in high regard as a national symbol among the post-

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

nations of the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

. The dombra is played by Erzhan Alimbetov in the Ulytau band. From the 12th to the 18th century, the was used by Bashkir to accompany their poetic legends and . It is mentioned in the epic poem "Zayatulyak and Hiuhiliu". However, by the beginning of the 20th century, the was forgotten. The were often the main ideologists of ethnic insurrections, so when the Russian administration put down an uprising, they punished the and destroyed their . In the second half of the 20th century, several reconstructions were carried out. At present, the revivalist work continues. Among others, performer V. Shugayupov works on the revival of the . The modern wooden has a pear-shaped or an oval form.

References in popular culture

This instrument has become a part of an Internet phenomenon after a video clip from SuperStar KZ, the Kazakh equivalent of the Idol series, was posted on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. The video includes two contestants singing and a third one singing and playing the dombra (Ernar Kaldynov), which caused the popularity. The name of the original song is Freestailo by R.Lizer, a Kazakh man. Dombyra as an instrument is being popularized through Dombyra Parties, a flash mob-like movement of Kazakh youth organized via

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

. The videos of Dombyra Party activities are shared on YouTube, Facebook etc.

Range and tablature

Many folk and regional tunings have existed, though below is the most accepted academic DG tuning for standard concert dombra prima of Kazakhstan. Kazakh dombra dombyra range tablature DG tuning

Kazakh dombra dombyra range tablature DG tuning

There are different classifications of Dombyra, for example Dombyra for singing songs or has 8-9 frets, dombyra for kyus has more than 20 frets."Dombra"
''The Shahnameh Guide To The Lutes Of Central Asia''

Gallery

File:Dawood Sarkhosh Hazara.jpg,

Dawood Sarkhosh Dawood Sarkhosh (also spelled as Daud Sarkhosh) (Farsi: ) is an ethnic Hazara people, Hazara singer and musician. Early life Dawood Sarkhosh was born on 26 April 1971 in Urozgan (now Daykundi), Afghanistan. Sarkhosh's inspiration was his olde ...

, a Hazara Dombra player.

References

External links