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Pandura
Classification	Necked bowl lutes; String instruments;
Related instruments
	Bağlama; Bouzouki; Byzantine Lyra; Dombra; Domra; Dutar; Tanbur; Tanbur (Turkish); Tembûr;

The pandura is an ancient string instrument from the Mediterranian basin.

The ancient Greek pandoura (or pandora) (Greek: πανδούρα) was a medium or long-necked lute with a small resonating chamber. It commonly had three strings: such an instrument was also known as the trichordon (McKinnon 1984:10). Its descendants still survive as North African Kuitras and Balkan tamburitsas. Renato Meucci (1996) suggests that the some Italian Renaissance descendants of Pandura type were called chitarra italiana, mandore or mandola. In the eighteenth century the pandurina (mandore) was often referred to as mandolino milanese.

[edit] Regional variations

[edit] Tanbur

Main article: Tanbur

A wide variety of similar instruments, often by the name tanbur, are found in areas ranging from Central Asia to Egypt.

[edit] Afghanistan

Main article: Dambura

In Afghanistan the pandura is called a dambura or dunbura, and is a popular folk instrument particularly among the Hazara people. Among the famous Afghan danbura players is Safdar Tawakoli.

[edit] Caucasus

Main article: Panduri

In Georgia the panduri is a three-string fretted instrument widely spread in all regions of Eastern Georgia: such as Pshavkhevsureti, Tusheti, Kakheti and Kartli. A similar Georgian instrument is the chonguri.

A similar instrument is found in Chechnya, where it is known as: pondar, ponder, pandir, or pandur, or dechig pondur, adkhoku pondur or dakhch pandr, or merz ponder.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

J.W. McKinnon "Pandoura" in New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments Vol 3 p 10 ed S. Sadie (Macmillan Press, London 1984).
Gill, Donald 1984. [title missing]

[edit] External links

Hittite Old Tanbur Picture
Pandoura: the greco-Roman lyre of antiquity
"Pandura". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

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