Uzbek Dutar
The Uzbek dutar is a two-stringed lute played throughout Uzbekistan and in Northern Tajikistan. It is used for playing Uzbek art music repertoire, including that of shashmaqom, as well as lighter folk songs. Its deep voice makes it suitable for accompanying higher pitched melodic instruments such as the tanbur, but it is also suitable for solo playing.
The dutar in its present form found its earliest description in the 15th century in a musical treatise by the scholar al Huseini from Samarkand. Nonetheless, folk legend abounds on its origins. One such legend claims that the dutar was invented by Baba Kambar, the groom of Hazrat Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. His invention only made a sound after he sought help from Satan, which gave the instrument its beautiful, haunting sound. Today, the dutar, in different forms, is found all among different peoples in Central Asia, including Tajiks, Turkmen and Uyghurs, as well as in the Khorasan region in northeastern Iran. Among them, the Uzbek dutar resembles the Uyghur dutar the most.
The dutar is strongly related to mulberry wood: its neck, soundboard and body are all made out of mulberry wood. The body is made out of ribs of mulberry and its neck can also be of apricot. It is often adorned with bone, shell or plastic inlays. It uses gut strings or plastic for its frets and twisted silk for strings which gives its deep, subtle sound.
