The komuz or qomuz ( , , ) is an ancient

fret 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 inst ...

less

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 in

Central Asian music The musical traditions of Central Asia mirror the immense diversity found in the cultures and populations residing in the region. Principal instrument types are two- or three-stringed lutes, the necks either fretted or fretless; fiddles made of ...

, related to certain other Turkic

string instruments 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 ...

, the Mongolian

tovshuur The ''tovshuur'', also known as ''topshur'' or ''topshuur'' ( Mongolian Cyrillic: ; ) is a two- or three-stringed lute played by the Western Mongolian (Oirats) tribes called the Altai Urianghais, the Altais, Tuvans, and Khalkha peoples. The top ...

, and the

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), 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 "lu ...

. The instrument can be found in Turkic ethnic groups, from China to Turkey. Forms of this instrument are used in China by the

Naxi people The Nakhi, Nashi, or Naxi (; Naxi language, Naxi: ) are a people inhabiting the Hengduan Mountains abutting the Eastern Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Provinces of China, Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Prov ...

and are called Huobusi, Hebisi , and Hunbusi. It is the best-known national instrument and one of the better-known Kyrgyz national symbols. The komuz is generally made from a single piece of wood (usually

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

) and has three strings traditionally made out of gut, and often from fishing line in modern times. In the most common tunings the middle string is the highest in pitch. Virtuosos frequently play the komuz in a variety of different positions: over the shoulder, between the knees and upside down. An illustration of a komuz is featured on the reverse of the one-som note.

Playing style

The komuz can be used either as accompaniment or as a lead instrument and is used in a wide variety of musical styles including

aytysh Aitysh ( ; ) is the name for the primarily folk-oriented, oral tradition of improvised singing and oratory between two parties referred to in Kazakh as akyns but found throughout Central Asia. Each akyn, usually sitting close to each other, strums ...

(a song competition between

akyn Aqyn or akyn (, , ; both transcribed as ''aqın'' or ''اقىن''), is an Improvisation, improvisational poets, poet, singers, singer, and List of oral repositories, oral repository within the Culture of Kazakhstan, Kazakh and Culture of Kyrgyzstan, ...

s) and the recitation of epics. It is generally played seated, held horizontally and may be

strummed In music, strumming is a way of playing a stringed instrument such as a guitar, ukulele, or mandolin. A strum or stroke is a sweeping action where a finger or plectrum brushes over several strings to generate sound. On most stringed instrume ...

or plucked. One piece ("mash botoy") consists of a simple tune repeated many times, each with a new stroke, as a test of the performer’s skill and creativity. The komuz has many different tunings, and the names of the tunings correspond with various styles of music.

History

The word ''komuz'' is cognate to the names of other instruments in the

Music of Central Asia The musical traditions of Central Asia mirror the immense diversity found in the cultures and populations residing in the region. Principal instrument types are two- or three-stringed lutes, the necks either fretted or fretless; fiddles made of ...

, including the Kazakh ''

kobyz The kobyz or qobyz, also known as the kylkobyz, is an ancient Turkic bowed string instrument, spread among Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Bashkirs, and Tatars. The Kyrgyz variant is called the ). The kobyz has two strings made of horsehair. The resonat ...

'' ( Uzbek ''qo'biz'') (

bowed instruments Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound. Despite the numerous specialist studies devoted to t ...

), and the Tuvan and Sakha or Yakut ''xomus'' (a

jaw harp The Jew's harp, also known as jaw harp, juice harp, or mouth harp, is a lamellophone instrument, consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or Reed (mouthpiece), reed attached to a frame. Despite the colloquial name, the Jew's harp most like ...

). The oldest known komuz-like instrument dates from the 4th century although the related Azerbaijani gopuz is believed to date back to 6000 BC following an archaeological discovery of clay plates depicting gopuz players. In the 1960s American

archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolog ...

working in the Shushdagh mountains near the ancient city of Jygamish in Iranian Azerbaijan, uncovered a number of rare clay plates which dated back to around

6000 B.C. The 6th millennium BC spanned the years 6000 BC to 5001 BC (c. 8 ka to c. 7 ka). It is impossible to precisely date events that happened around the time of this millennium and all dates mentioned here are estimates mostly based on geo ...

which depicted musicians at a council, holding a komuz-like instrument to their chests. The golcha gopuz was mentioned in the epic

Book of Dede Korkut The ''Book of Dede Korkut'' or ''Book of Korkut Ata'' (, ; ; ) is the most famous among the dastans or epic stories of the Oghuz Turks. The stories carry morals and values significant to the social lifestyle of the nomadic Turkic peoples and ...

. The names of parts of the komuz are often allusions to body parts, particularly of horses. For example, the neck is called "neck", the tuning pegs are called , or "ear"s. The Kyrgyz word кыл/qyl means "string of an instrument" or "horse's hair". The ancient komuz generally had two or three strings. The three-stringed ''golcha gopuz'' was more popular in ancient

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

: the two-stringed ''gil gopuz'' or ''"iklyg"'' was used on the Altai plains, in parts of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

and in Chinese territory inhabited by the

Uyghur people The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the titular nationali ...

. The golcha gopuz is made from a

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

covering which covered around two-thirds of the surface, and the other third is covered with thin wood along with the sound board. The total length of the instrument is 810 mm, with the body 410 mm, the width 240 mm and the height or breadth only 20 mm. The (, literally "mouth komuz") or, alternatively, (, literally "metal komuz" or "iron komuz"), is a

and as an instrument is unrelated to the komuz. During the

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 ...

era the instrument fell from favour. It was derided as rudimentary and attempts were made to make it more like the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

balalaika The balalaika (, ) is a Russian string instrument, stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck, and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the third string is a perf ...

, notably by adding

s. After independence the komuz was again taught in music colleges, though some of the Soviet changes have remained. In the twentieth century the late

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian

dutar The ''dutar'' (also ''Dotara, dotar''; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. Its name comes from the Persian language, Persian word for "two strings", دوتار ''do tār'' (< � ...

player

Haj Ghorban Soleimani Haj Qorban Soleimani () (April 11, 1920 – January 20, 2008) was an Iranian celebrated dotar player and vocalist. Dotar or Dutar is a form of Central Asian lute. Biography Soleimani was born in 1920 to Khorasani Turkic parents in Aliabad (عل� ...

invented a new form of the komuz which has received some popularity.

Legendary origin

In legends, Dede Korkut is seen as the inventor of the kopuz. In ''The Book of Dede Korkut'', his special bond with the kopuz is not limited to his performances as a

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

. Of particular importance, there is a passage in the story about the brothers Egrek and Segrek. When Segrek wants to attack Egrek, because he thinks he is dealing with an infidel, he says: Thus a random lute is directly connected to Dede Korkut here, which is presumably a reference to the fact that he was the inventor there.

Related instruments

Different variations of the komuz spread to several eastern European countries such as

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

during the 4th-5th century A.D, during the mass

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

into the region. There they became known with similar variations of the name. (See :

kobza The kobza (), also called bandura () is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family (Hornbostel-Sachs classification number 321.321-5+6), a relative of the Central European mandora. The term ''kobza'' however, has also been applied to ...

) In

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

(a Russian republic between

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

and the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

, just east of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

) a special instrument mentioned in both the Vertkov's Atlas SSSR, and in Buchner's book, is called

agach komus The kumuz () or agach-kumuz () is a stringed instrument used by the Kumyks of Dagestan, in the Russian Caucasus. It has three strings and is fretted. Scholars have noticed the similarity in name to the Kyrgyz komuz, but note the kumuz is perhaps ...

, or temur by the Avar people. It seems a kind of slender

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

with 3 strings, with a body (carved from one block of wood) shaped like a spade and fitted with a trident-like spike at the lower end. The

Qanbūs A ''qanbūs'' () is a short-necked lute that originated in Yemen and spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula. Sachs considered that it derived its name from the Turkic komuz, but it is more comparable to the oud. The instrument was related to or ...

of the Arabian and Malay peninsulae is considered by Sachs to derive its name from the komuz.The gambus (lutes) of the Malay world: its origins and significance in zapin Music
Larry Hilarian, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 06 Jul 2004 The five-string kopuz is also thought to have transformed into the six-string instrument known as the sestar or seshane by 13th-century mystic

Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (), or simply Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century poet, Hanafi '' faqih'' (jurist), Maturidi theologian (''mutakallim''), and Sufi mystic born during the Khwarazmian Empire ...

. The word "sestar" is mentioned in the poems of the 14th-century poet

Yunus Emre Yunus Emre (), also known as Derviş Yûnus (Yûnus the Dervish) (1238–1320) (Old Anatolian Turkish: يونس امره), was a Turkish folk poet and Sufi who greatly influenced Turkish culture. The UNESCO General Conference unanimously passe ...

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

describes the kopuz as a smaller version of the seshane.

Modern huobosi

Although the term huobosi still applies to the traditional instrument, in China a newer instrument has evolved from the older instrument, resembling a guitar and called the

Huobosi The Huobosi (simplified: 火不思; pinyin: Huǒbùsī; ) is a stringed musical instrument from China. The name is a transliteration into Chinese of a medieval Turkic name for the instrument. It has four strings in four courses and is tuned E ...

Media

Video of a komuz master

Video of a komuz player

A home performance of a traditional Kyrgyz song, played on the komuz

Salamat Sadyqova performing Alymqan on the komuz

Sources

References

Welcome to KYRGYZMUSIC.COM

External links

The Spektator – 'Komuz and Creation' - Article in issue fifteen of the Spektator