The ''temir komuz'' (sometimes temir qomuz meaning 'iron komuz/qomuz', ooz komuz meaning 'mouth komuz', or gubuz) is a Kyrgyz

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 ...

, while 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, ...

is a three-stringed fretless lute. As an instrument, the temir komuz is unrelated to the komuz in terms of style and structure; however, it takes its name from the other popular Turkic instrument. The stringed komuz is used by

Turkic people Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members ...

living in central Asia e.g., Kyrgyz,

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 ...

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 ...

Turkmens Turkmens (, , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, ...

, and

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

, as well as by

Azeri Azeri or Azeri Turk may refer to: * Azeri people, an ethnic group also known as Azerbaijanis * Citizens of Azerbaijan * Azeri language, the modern-day Turkic language * Old Azeri, an extinct Iranian language * Azeri Turk (journal), Academic jour ...

, Turkish, and

Yakut Yakut or Yakutian may refer to: * Yakuts, the Turkic peoples indigenous to the Sakha Republic * Yakut language, a Turkic language * Yakut scripts, Scripts used to write the Yakut language * Yakut (name) * Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ...

people. In fact, ''komuz'' is cognate for the names of several musical instruments, used extensively by Turkic people and key to the music of Central Asia, just as Kazakh '' kobyz'' ( Uzbek ) (bowed instruments), the Tuvan and Sakha or Yakut (a jaw harp), Azeri ,

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 ...

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 ...

'', Avar people , and Turkish . The oldest known komuz-like instrument dates from the 4th century although the related Azerbaijani is believed to date back to 6000 BCE following an archaeological discovery of clay plates depicting players. In the 1960s American archeologists working in the Shushdagh mountains near the ancient city of Jygamish in Iranian

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 ...

, uncovered a number of rare clay plates which dated back to around 6000 BCE which depicted musicians at a council, holding a komuz-like instrument to their chests. The 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 ...

''.''Atlas of Traditional Music of Azerbaijan'' The temir komuz is made of iron usually with a length of and with a width of approximately . The range of the instrument varies with the size of the instrument, but generally hovers around an

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

span. The Kyrgyz people are unusually proficient on the temir komuz instrument and it is quite popular among children. However, some adults continue to play the instrument. There is a National Artist of Kyrgyz Republic who performs on the instrument. One time twenty Kyrgyz girls played in a temir komuz ensemble on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. Temir komuz pieces have been notated by Aleksandr Zataevich in two or three parts. Apparently an octave drone is possible, or even an

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...

alternating the fifth step of a scale with an octave.Mark Slobin

In Turkic traditional music

The instrument is also used by Sakha or

people, and in Tuvan music with the name . It was introduced to

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 ...

by the

Cuman The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...

people. A Kyrgyz marionette play called (jumping-goat) features the temir komuz; the player attaches a small goat figure to a string and ties the string to their right hand. They move the puppet skillfully while playing the instrument.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temir Komuz Heteroglot guimbardes and jaw harps Kyrgyz musical instruments Yakuts