Fann aṭ-Ṭanbūra ( ar, فن الطنبورة) is a traditional music and dance genre in the

Arab states of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emir ...

, especially

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

. Musically, the '' tanbūra'' instrument plays a central role, along with several

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s and the '' manjur''— an instrument made from a large number of goat hooves attached to a type of apron which is wrapped around the waist of the performer. Men and women both participate in the singing and dance. Fann at-tanbura is closely associated with the

Zār In the cultures of the Horn of Africa and adjacent regions of the Middle East, ''Zār'' ( ar, زار, gez, ዛር) is the term for a demon or spirit assumed to possess individuals, mostly women, and to cause discomfort or illness. The so-cal ...

spiritual ritual, and it was originally used in healing practices. Participants would occasionally fall into a

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

. In modern times though it is more often a musical performance.

External links

Video of a Tanbura group from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Oman Centre for Traditional Music
* Poul Rovsing Olsen, "La Musique Africaine dans le Golfe Persique", Journal of the International Folk Music Council, Vol. 19, (1967), pp. 28–36
Liwa and Tanbura from Africa to BahrainPart 2
Al Waqt newspaper, 21 Feb 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanbura Arab culture Middle Eastern dances Arabic music Music of the African diaspora

See also

External links