The ''dutar'' (also ''

dotar The ''dutar'' (also ''dotar''; fa, دوتار, dutâr; russian: Дутар; tg, дутор; ug, دۇتار, ucy=Дутар, Dutar; uz, dutor; ; dng, Дутар) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central ...

''; fa, دوتار, dutâr; russian: Дутар; tg, дутор; ug, دۇتار, ucy=Дутар, Dutar; uz, dutor; ; dng, Дутар) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed

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 ref ...

found in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, 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 t ...

. Its name comes from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word for "two strings", دوتار ''do tār'' (< دو ''do'' "two",تار ''tār'' "string"), although the

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

i dutar of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

has fourteen strings. Dutar is very popular in Tajikistan and Khorasan province of Iran. When played, the strings are usually plucked by the

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...

of Western China and strummed and plucked by the

Tajiks Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Tajik ...

Turkmen Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to: Peoples Historical ethnonym * Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages Ethnic groups * Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...

. Related instruments include the Kazakh

dombra The ''dombra'', also known as ''dombyra'' ( kz, домбыра, uz, dombira, ba, думбыра) is a long-necked Kazakh, Uzbek and Bashkir lute and a musical string instrument. The dombyra shares certain characteristics with the komuz a ...

. The Dutar is also an important instrument among the

Kurds of Khorasan Khorasani Kurds ( ku, کوردانی خۆراسان, fa, کردهای خراسان) are Kurds who live in the provinces of North Khorasan and Razavi Khorasan in northeastern Iran, along the Iran-Turkmenistan border. There are about 696 Kurdis ...

amongst whom Haj Ghorban Soleimani of

Quchan Quchan ( fa, قوچان ' ; also Romanized as Qūchān and Quçan; also known as Khabushan, Gochan) is a city and capital of Quchan County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. It is located due south of the border city of Ashgabat. At the 2006 ce ...

was a noted virtuoso. In

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

one who plays the dutar is known as a bakci (bakhshi), while in

Azeri Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic people living mainly in Azerbaijan (Iran), northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republi ...

the term is

ashiq An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikay ...

. Khorasan bakhshi music is recognized on the

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 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 Intergove ...

. At the time of the Dutar's humble origins in the 15th century as a

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

's instrument its strings were made from gut. However, with the opening up of the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

, catgut gave way to strings made from twisted

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

imported from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. To this day some instruments still feature silk strings, although

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 petro ...

strings are also commonly used. The dutar has a warm, dulcet tone. Typical sizes for the pear-shaped instrument range from one to two meters. Typically it is tuned La Re or A D, but it also depends on the region.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists

Dutar making craftsmanship and traditional music performing art combined with singing from 2021 representative on the

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists 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 ...

. Туркменистан получил официальное подтверждение ЮНЕСКО о признании общечеловеческой ценности дутара
/ref>

Notable players

Haj Ghorban Soleimani (1920–2008) *

Turgun Alimatov Turgun Alimatov ( uz, Turgʻun Alimatov; 20 January 1922 – 17 December 2008) was a leading Uzbek classic music and shashmaqam player and composer of 20th century folk and classic music. He was a master performer of tanbur The term ''Tanbur ...

(1922–2008) * Abdurahim Hamidov (1952–2013) * Abdurehim Heyit ( Uyghur) (1962–) * Sanubar Tursun (1971–) *Alireza Soleimani (Aliabad, Khorasan) *Sultan Reza Bakci (Geliani) (

Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...

i) *Haj Mohammad Hossein Yeganeh (Khorasani) *Abdolghader Afzali(Khorasan, Iran) *Aziz Tanha (Korasan, Iran) *Saied Tehranizadeh *Abd Allah Amini (Khorasani) *Zolfaghar Askarian (Khorasani) *Gholam Ali Poor Ataa (Khorasani) *Aliia Gholi Yeganeh (

) *Osman Mohammadparast (

Khaf, Iran Khaf ( fa, خواف; also Romanized as Khvāf and Khāf; also known as Qaşabeh-ye Rūd, Rūd, Rūi Khāf, and Rūy) is a city and capital of Khaf County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 21,160, in 4,924 ...

) *Abdollah Alijani Ardeshir (Tehran, Iran)

References

External links

Listen famous Dutar tunesEncyclopedia of Persian Music InstrumentsDutar Music of Turkmenistan (ethnomusicology essay by Graham Flett, 2001)
{{Authority control Necked bowl lutes Central Asian music Uyghur musical instruments Kazakhstani musical instruments Uzbekistani musical instruments Kyrgyz musical instruments Afghan musical instruments Tajik musical instruments Turkmen musical instruments Persian words and phrases Iranian inventions Persian musical instruments