The panduri ( ka, ფანდური) is a
traditional Georgian three-string
plucked instrument common in all regions of
Eastern Georgia
Eastern Georgia ( ka, აღმოსავლეთ საქართველო, ''aghmosavlet' sak'art'velo'') is a geographic area encompassing the territory of the Caucasian nation of Georgia to the east and south of the Likhi and Meskhet ...
: such as
Pshav-
Khevsureti
Khevsureti (Georgian: ხევსურეთი, ''a land of valleys'') is a historical-ethnographic region in eastern Georgia. They are the branch of Kartvelian (Georgian) people located along both the northern (Pirikita khevsureti, Georgian: ...
,
Tusheti
Tusheti ( ka, თუშეთი) is a historic region in northeast Georgia.
Geography
Located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, Tusheti is bordered by the Russian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan to the north and eas ...
,
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...
and
Kartli
Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role ...
. The panduri is generally used to accompany solo heroic, comic and love songs, as well as dance. It is typically played by men.
Tuning
*Three-stringed panduri: G-A-C# or E-B-A# or A-C#-E
*Two-stringed panduri: D-C#
Construction
The frets on the panduri are traditionally made of wood inlaid in the fingerboard, usually seven frets to an octave, but nowadays chromatic fretting with metal frets can also be found. The body of the panduri is usually made more in the shape of a spade, less often with a parallel sided endblock. It is traditionally carved from a single block of wood, but a staved construction (like a lute) is also common.
Variants and related instruments
The panduri is a three-stringed lute from the highland and lowland regions of eastern Georgia, usually played by strumming, and often for choral and rhythmic support of vocal melody.
There are two kinds of panduri in Georgia: one is the traditional "folk" panduri, which typically has seven frets and more closely approximates the scale divisions in the non-Western Georgian scale system. The second kind is the "chromatic" panduri, which has the same tonal divisions as a guitar and is capable of reproducing all the half-steps of the tempered Western scale.
It is also sometimes found in Western Georgia (Upper Imereti and Racha). The two-stringed panduri survives in Khevsureti.
Sometimes the panduri is also mistakenly called a "chonguri" - but the
chonguri
The choghur ( az, Çoğur; ka, ჩონგური) is a plucked string musical instrument common in Azerbaijan and Georgia. It has 4 nylon strings.
The choghur dates back to the 12th to 16th centuries, the period between the gopuz and the ...
is a completely different instrument which comes from western Georgia; it is fretless, and it has a fourth, half-length drone string. Additionally, the chonguri is an instrument mainly played by women, while the panduri is usually played by men.
A similar instrument is found in
Chechnya
Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...
,
where it is known as:
See also
*
Phandar
The Phandar ( ce, Пхıандар; ;) is a traditional Vainakhish three-string plucked instrument from Chechnya and Ingushetia in the Northern Caucasus.
The sound produced by the Phandar is similar to the Panduri, but it is easy to hear the di ...
*
Chonguri
The choghur ( az, Çoğur; ka, ჩონგური) is a plucked string musical instrument common in Azerbaijan and Georgia. It has 4 nylon strings.
The choghur dates back to the 12th to 16th centuries, the period between the gopuz and the ...
*
Pandura
The pandura ( grc, πανδοῦρα, ''pandoura'') or pandore, an ancient string instrument, belonged in the broad class of the lute and guitar instruments. Akkadians played similar instruments from the 3rd millennium BC. Ancient Greek artwork d ...
References
{{Musical instruments of Georgia (country)
Musical instruments of Georgia (country)
String instruments
Chechen musical instruments