Qanbus

Gambus, malay, of qanbus (Arabic القنبوس, DMG al - qanbūs ) refers to a group of plucked lutes, played by Islamized ethnic groups in some areas of Malaysia and Indonesia to the accompaniment of religious songs. In a broader sense, appropriate music styles are Gambus and ensembles Orkes Gambus called that accompany religious dances and entertainment. The two different, spread by Arab traders at least the 15th century instrument types are the Gambus Melayu, whose form goes back to the pear-shaped qanbus from Yemen, and the Gambus Hadramaut, whose rundbauchiger body as well as the Arabic ʿ ūd from the ancient Persian stringed instrument Barbat derived. All instruments are fretless.

Origin and Distribution

In the Arab and North African region several similarly shaped and partially related names sounds are known: The gabbus ( gambusi ) of Zanzibar, the Comoros lute Gabusi and the sounds Gabus in Saudi Arabia and gabbus in Oman. Curt Sachs led for the first time in 1915 this narrow Plucked precursor to the fretless Turkish lute kopuz ( Kobuz ) back. In his Reallexikon of 1913 he calls an Arab origin of the Malay Gambus.

It follows that, according to common notion about the 15th century, the word qanbus and lute instruments with Arab traders, many of whom were from the südostjemenitischen region Hadramaut, to Southeast Asia in the Malay archipelago ( alam Melayu ) must be reached where two different call types and its variants spread along with Islam through the Malay Peninsula, and on to Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi. All Arabic sounds are called in the Malay language Gambus. The name may, according to Curt Sachs be indirectly attributed to the kopuz, but the Turkish instrument is a long-necked lute, thus it should not come as a model for Gambus instruments in question. Locals ( asli ) primitive preforms from which these sounds had been able to develop are not known. Another type are widespread in the region boat lutes. They come as the note played on Sumatra hasapi or the Philippine kutiyapi in name from India.

The derived from the Yemeni qanbus pear-shaped type is called Gambus Melayu, to distinguish it from the round -bellied lute Gambus Hadramaut or Gambus Arab, whose form is derived from the introduced Barbat in Persia in the 8th century stringed instrument. The Persian type of instrument may have been much earlier, possibly placed in the 9th century by Sufi missionaries and merchants from Persia to some coastal settlements in the Malay Archipelago after an hypothesis. In the 1st century Indian immigrants founded the small kingdom of Kalah, after today's Malaysian state of Kedah is named. In a local or other authorities designated by the Arabs as Kalah trading post on the west coast of Malaysia since that time put on Arabic and Persian sailing ships. They found Arabic coins from the 9th century, demonstrating the trade with Chinese sailors. A correspondingly early arrival of sound instruments from the West would thus be conceivable that the question of a Persian or Arabic origin can be clarified only by the shape.

It is not excluded that in addition to the medieval lute with a round body at an earlier time, a smaller lute from Persia came because there already in the Sassanid era, which lasted until the middle of the mid- 7th century, a Barbat also called narrow sounds from was known to a piece of wood. This description fits the present-day Yemen qanbus, as well as the tuning of the strings in fourths, which is characteristic of most of the Arab and Persian sounds. In the 13th century, the first Muslim communities in Aceh in northern Sumatra formed, from the early 15th century, the Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of the islands was threatened by a rapidly spreading Islam. In the Bugis and Makassar in South Sulawesi early 17th century were introduced with Islam, the frame drum Rebana and the Gambus Melayu.

The round shape of the bulbous later Barbat also became a model for the European lutes. A name reference to the medieval viols sound obvious, but is not secured.

In the 19th century had Yemeni traders from the Hadramout a significant proportion of the spread of Islam in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Many of them were scholars of Islam, and as the men came from the region of the prophet, she and the spread of them rich Arabic culture including music in the population were highly regarded. Music was a part of these imported and connecting cultural identity ( asabiyya ). As on the Arabian Peninsula in the early 20th century, the Arab ʿ ūd the pear-shaped native sounds almost completely repressed, so was in a quasi- second musical import at the same time ūd in alam Melayu of the more popular ʿ responsible for ensuring that the round bulbous shape of the Gambus Hadramaut the narrower Gambus Melayu was largely displace.

Designs

Gambus Melayu

Other regional names for the Gambus Melayu ( in Borneo and Sulawesi in general) are Gambus seludang ( in Sabah and Brunei ), perahu, Hijaz ( in Johor ), biawak Gambus and Palembang, in Sulawesi also gambusu. The narrow instrument has a pear-shaped body ( badan ), which merges with a shallow curvature in a medium to long slender neck. This ends in a C-shaped downward curved pegbox ( Kepala, " head"). The hollow body is covered at the top ( muka, "face" ) instead of the ceiling with an untanned animal skin that is sometimes decorated with Arabic script. Mostly goat skin is used rarely, lizard or snake skin. Also over the top of the hollow neck, a thin hard wood strip is glued, which serves as a fingerboard.

Proportions and size vary by region, all Gambus Melayu are cut out of a piece of stem wood. Most will ( heimii Neobalanocarpus, the family of Dipterocarpaceae ) from Cempedak ( Artocarpus integer), Cengal or Nangka ( Artocarpus heterophyllus ) were prepared. The woods mentioned are soft, so easy to work with and shrink when drying hard. In the middle of the body of the domed bottom is located at Malaysian sounds a sound hole ( Lubang bunyi ). Indonesian Gambus have three to five small holes on underside of neck.

The pegboxes of Indonesian instruments are often decorated with carved birds, animal heads or flowers and have a slightly longer neck than those of the Malay Peninsula. The seven strings - three doubles and a single top string - run of the vertebrae ( Telinga ) over a flat bridge ( gertak ), who sits on the skin covering and end on a wooden spike used in the bottom ( buntut, "tail "). Three and four wooden vertebrae facing each other horizontally.

The total length of a typical manufactured in Johor Gambus is about 88 inches, the width of the sound body about 23 centimeters, the soil has a maximum depth of 13 centimeters. The skin -covered lower part of the body is about 32 inches long to the wooden ceiling of the neck.

Gambus Melayu with wooden ceiling

A special feature of the gambusu of Sulawesi Represents the instrument corresponds to the slender shape of the Gambus Melayu, but has no skin covering, but a glued wooden ceiling. The neck ( neher ) is slightly wider and the pegbox less carefully decorated. More deviating museum forms are known from Java. In most regions today nylon strings are used only in the Sumatran province of Riau and on some offshore islands preferable to wire strings. The atmosphere takes place in fourths, with most Gambus Melayu in A - D - G - C, only the wire strings in the Riau province are on G - voted C - D - G.

The chord played in Brunei and Sabah Gambus Gambus Melayu or seludang also has a wooden ceiling and only three double strings, the E - A - D to be tuned. It could be a further development of the skin -covered Gambus Melayu. In this region there are different sized sounds under local names such as saludang Mayang or saludang buntal. The full-size instrument is 100 centimeters long and 32 centimeters wide. The smallest sounds, Gambus Melayu kecil, measures 62 inches in length.

Gambus Hadramaut

This ʿ ūd the appropriate type of instrument is mainly in Johor, on the north coast of Borneo, especially in Brunei (as Gambus Johor ), distributed in Sumatra, Java, and the Sulu Archipelago. The body is 38 inches wide and 22 inches curved downward, the total length is about 72 centimeters. The round bulbous form consists of 15 to 21 thin strips of wood that are glued on the long edges together and stiffened by transverse ribs. The strips are made of seraya merah ( genus Shorea ), Merwan ( genus Hopea, similar Meranti ) and durian Belanda ( Malay, Indonesian: sirsak, German: Soursop ). The cover consists of a flat wooden board is adhered to the body. It has a great mid sound hole of about twelve inches in diameter and two smaller with five centimeters from the side of the strings. For the fingerboard on the neck ( neher ) normally leban ( Vitex cofassus, genus Vitex ) is used.

The approximately 23 centimeters long pegbox is bent at an obtuse angle from the neck to the back. It is made of light brown solid wood of leban or Seraya ( Shorea curtisii, Dark Red Meranti ). Gambus Hadramaut have eleven nylon strings, five of which are double, the lowest string is single. Dating of nylon fishing line is now mostly replaced by guitar strings. The mood in fourths is B - e - a - d - g - c. The melody is played with a plectrum on the upper strings and complemented by an underlying drone.

Musical tradition

The Gambus is understood as a part of the common Islamic- Malay culture of Southeast Asia. A unifying element of the various Islamized ethnic groups is the reference to the origin of this culture in the Arab world. The generic term for an Islamic style of music is Orkes Gambus ( " Gambus orchestra" ). Music performances will be in alam Melayu, if this is done in the right way, considered religiously honorable actions, regardless of a controversial religious tradition in the hadiths. Thus, the Gambus has a long tradition as an accompanying instrument of Islamic worship songs. In Malaysia, an improvised solo playing Gambus - bridged ( Taksim ) on radio and television, the time to onset of a prayer transmission. The Gambus one of the strings, which a certain " holiness " is awarded.

At the local music traditions is above all in the Malaysian state of Johor maintained and from there spread in the province of Jambi and sumatranesische to Singapore Zapin dance, around the 15th century seems to have been introduced by Arab Muslims from the Hadramaut. In the group dance originally listed only by men today may also assist women. The shape Zapin Arab is an energetic dance with severe leg movements, Zapin Melayu is more cautious. Partial scenes are shown from everyday life. Both dance styles can be listed in secular or religious occasions. Zapin Dance Events found in earlier dynasties same place as in villages. They are accompanied by a musical ensemble, which includes the Gambus (or ʿ ūd ) and two pairs of small double- skin drums ( Marwa, Rebana ). A form of Zapin in the province of Lampung is the tari bedana called Islamic style of dance, which is accompanied by several Gambus and drums.

The well-groomed at weddings and other celebrations in the south of the Malay Peninsula musical Ghazal has its origin in the same Arab- Persian Versgattung. The Ghazal came in the 19th century as an Indian song form with Indian traders or the beginning of the 20th century along with the cultural import of wayang Parsi ( Parsi theater ) to Malaysia. The melodies, the old Malay Pantun verses were sung in a popular manner, accompanied by a harmonium and tablas imported from India, and Gambus and violin. This gave an entertaining mix of styles with a now mostly shallow sounding love song.

Traditional Pantun found in folk songs, lullabies and songs of praise to the Prophet. Also in Brunei they are accompanied with a Gambus, with the singer using the Pantun - versification can improvise their own verses. Zapin dances with sung to Pantun verses hot there Zapin Brunei.

Kasidah ( from Arabic qasida ) is a secular and a religious song genre that has spread through the centers of West Sumatra and Sulawesi addition. The religious songs are sung in Arabic, also of girls in religious schools, and accompanied with the Gambus and drums.

In the Minangkabau in West Sumatra religious dances are performed, which are accompanied with a Gambus or when salawek dulang dance called with a bronze plate ( dulang ). Both instruments brought to the local lore Muslim missionaries at the end of the 16th century. In the coastal lowlands of the Minangkabau play the widespread, resulting in the early 20th century popular music of Orkes Melayu with Gambus, accordion, violins ( biola ), flutes ( Saluang ) and double bass.

In general, ( Orkes Gambus ) Flutes ( distributed suling ), violins, frame drums ( Rebana ) or more recently also participate in an electronic keyboard Gambus ensembles. They will play popular local and Arabic hits, which are distributed through music cassettes. The Gambus players are almost always male, women accompany their singing on the frame drum.

Accordingly, in the music of Lombok after 1945 developed under the Muslim population with the cilokaq a regional popular music style in the form preret two Gambus the harmonic background for the singing voice, a melody leading suling and the double reed instrument.

360091
de