The yazh ( ta, யாழ், also transliterated yāḻ, ) is an
harp used in
ancient Tamil music
The ancient Tamil music is the historical predecessor of the Carnatic music during the Sangam period spanning from 500 BCE to 200 CE.
Many poems of the classical Sangam literature were set to music. There are various references to this an ...
. It was strung with gut strings that ran from an curved ebony neck to a boat or trough-shaped resonator, the opening of which was a covered with skin for a soundboard. At the resonator the strings were attached to a string-bar or tuning bar with holes for strings that laid beneath of the soundboard and protruded through. The neck may also have been covered in hide.
The arched harp was used in India since at least the 2nd century B.C.E., when a woman was sculpted with the instrument in a Buddhist artwork at
Bhārut.
Both the Indian
harp-style ''veena'' and the Tamil ''yazh'' declined starting in about the 7th century C.E., as
stick-zither style veenas rose to prominence.
[
While use of the instrument died out in centuries past, artworks have preserved some knowledge of what the instruments looked like. Luthiers have begun to recreate the instrument.
]
Characteristics
The instruments were built between 1 and 3 feet tall.[ Strings made of goat intestine were stretched and shaped to differing thicknesses for different notes.][ Bodies were carved from local woods, including ''emmaram'' (red wood) or ''pala maram'' (jackfruit) wood, and today red cedar is used.][ Soundboards were made of goatskin, glued to the body with a paste made of tamarind seeds.][ The sound bar beneath the soundboard, which the strings anchor to, was glued to the instrument's body with a lacquer called Arakku.][
]
Harps are tuned to musical scales
In music theory, a scale is any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch. A scale ordered by increasing pitch is an ascending scale, and a scale ordered by decreasing pitch is a descending scale.
Often, especially in the ...
, with each string being tuned to one note in the scale. According to literature, Tamil land was divided into five regions, each having its own scale (Paan) and variant of the instrument.
The Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar
Thiruvalluvar (Tamil: திருவள்ளுவர்), commonly known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher. He is best known as the author of the ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'', a collection of couplets on ethics, political and ...
mentions yazh in his work ''Thirukkural
The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' ( ta, திருக்குறள், lit=sacred verses), or shortly the ''Kural'' ( ta, குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each. The tex ...
''. Many major Tamil classical literary masterpieces written during Sangam period
The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...
have mentioned the yazh. ''Silappatikaram
''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം,IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the e ...
'', written by a Tamil Chera prince Ilango Adigal
Ilango Adigal ()() was a Jain monk and a poet, sometimes identified as a Chera prince. He is traditionally credited as the author of '' Cilappatikaram'', one of the Five Great Epics of Ancient Tamil literature. He is one of the greatest poets ...
, mentions four kinds of yazhs:[
*''Peri yazh'' – 21-29 strings – large yazh
*''Makara yazh'' – 19 strings – ]makara
''Makara'' ( sa, मकर, translit=Makara) is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn.
Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, a ...
yazh
*''Cakota yazh'' – 14 strings
*''Cenkotti yazh'' – 7 strings
The Tamil book Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai
__NOTOC__
''Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai'' ( ta, பெரும்பாணாற்றுப்படை, ''lit.'' "guide for bards with the large lute") is an ancient Tamil poem in the ''Pattuppattu'' anthology of the Sangam literature. It c ...
says the strings of a yazh should not have any twists in them. Other Tamil literature which have mentions on yazh are Seevaga Sindhamani and Periya Puranam
The ''Periya purāṇam'' (Tamil: பெரிய புராணம்), that is, the ''great purana'' or epic, sometimes called ''Tiruttontarpuranam'' ("Tiru-Thondar-Puranam", the Purana of the Holy Devotees), is a Tamil poetic ...
. In modern times Swami Vipulananda
Swami Vipulananda ( ta, சுவாமி விபுலாநந்தர்) (27 March 1892 – 20 July 1947), also known as Vipulananda Adigal, was a Sri Lankan Tamil Hinduism, Hindu social reformer, literary critic, author, poet, teacher a ...
has written a book of scientific research in Tamil called the ''Yazh Nool
''Yazh Nool'' or ''Yal Nool'' (; ; ''lit.'' ''The Book of Yazh'') is a musical research book on yazh, one of the ancient musical instruments of the Tamils. The book was written by Swami Vipulananda and first published in June 1947 at Tirukkolla ...
'', detailing 6 different yazh harps.
Body shape
The instrument may have a relationship with the mythological '' yali'', the word for which (யாழி) is linguistically similar to the word for this arched harp (முகம்). Whatever relationship the words may or may not have linguistically, some researchers believe the mythological yali was carved into the tip of the yazh harp's neck.[ The relationship between a stringed instrument and the yali is not limited to this Tamil instrument, but also was mentioned by Śārṅgadeva in his ]Sangita Ratnakara
The ''Sangita-Ratnakara'', सङ्गीतरत्नाकर, (IAST: Saṅgīta ratnākara), literally "Ocean of Music and Dance", is one of the most important musicological texts from India. Composed by Śārṅgadeva (शार्ङ ...
as a feature of the ekatantri stick-zither veena. The modern Saraswati veena
The Sarasvatī vīṇa (also spelled Saraswati vina) (Devanagari: सरस्वती वीणा (vīṇā), te, సరస్వతి వీణ, kan, ಸರಸ್ವತಿ ವೀಣೆ, ta, சரஸ்வதி வீணை, Malayalam ...
retains this feature.
''Other types of yazh are:''
* ''Mayil Yazh'' – ''"resembling a peacock"''
* ''Vil Yazh'' – ''"shaped like a bow''"
The animal used in creating the instrument has an effect on its sound, affecting the instrument's dimensions which changes its sound.[ The shapes are both culturally aesthetic and lend themselves to incorporating the ]golden ratio
In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b > 0,
where the Greek letter phi ( ...
curve into the arch of the instrument.[
]
Literature
There is a city named for the yazh in the story of its founding, Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...
, known in Tamil as ''Yazhpanam''. A Sri Lankan Tamil legend recounts that a blind man ''Panan'' played on the Yazh so beautiful that he was given land from a king, which he named after himself, literally meaning ''"town of harper"''.
Not only seen in literature, Yazh are found in sculptures in the Darasuram
Darasuram or Dharasuram is a locality in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. The area is known for the Airavateswara temple constructed by the Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century CE. The temple is a recognised UNESCO World Heritage monument.
Demog ...
and Thirumayam
Thirumayam is a place of historical importance located about 22 km from the town of Pudukkottai & 22 km from the town of Karaikudi. The noted Indian independence activist Sathyamurthy was born in Thirumayam in 1887.
Etymology
Thirumay ...
temples in Tamil Nadu and also in Amaravathi village, Guntur district
Amaravathi is a village on the banks of the Krishna River, in the Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Amaravathi mandal, Andhra Pradesh, Amaravathi mandal, and forms part of the Andhra Pradesh Capit ...
.
The yazh was played in ''Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple
Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundaraswarar Temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi, a form of Parvati, and her consort, ...
'' in early centuries. It was mentioned in '' ShaivaThirumurai'' 11th Pathigam. It was also played by the musician and poet ''Panapathirar'' ''( ta, பாணபத்திரர்)'' who is mentioned in religious devotional stories.
Gallery
File:Yaarl.jpg, Modern reproduction of a ''Yazh'', an instrument used in Ancient Tamil music
The ancient Tamil music is the historical predecessor of the Carnatic music during the Sangam period spanning from 500 BCE to 200 CE.
Many poems of the classical Sangam literature were set to music. There are various references to this an ...
. This reproduction has a yali head carved into the curved neck.
File:Yaaz.jpg, Modern recreations of the yazh/yal
File:Makarayazh woman.jpg, Modern illustration of Makara yal (Tamil: மகரயாழ்).
File:யாழ் மீட்டும் பெண்.png, Woman playing a yal.
File:Virkodi Yazh.jpg, ''Virkodi yazh'' or ''vil yazh''. A music theory proposes that a hunters bow was inspiration for the first stringed instruments in India. This is from Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
.
External links
BBC video showing the instrument being played.
News article with prominent photo of Makara yazh
Brief history of Jaffna and the yazh, Daily News, Sri Lankha
News story on re-creating yazh
Photo and news clip of modern re-created yazh
References
{{Indian musical instruments
Indian musical instruments
Harps
Carnatic music
Tamil music