Jadagan
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009) |
| String instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | |
| Developed | Antiquity |
| Related instruments | |
The jadagan (Khakas: чадыған, romanized: çadığan, Russian: чатхан, romanized: chatkhan, or Siberian harp) is a wooden board zither of the Khakas people in Siberia.
The jadagan usually has 6 or 7 strings stretched across movable bridges and tuned a fourth or fifth apart. The body is hollowed out from underneath like an upturned trough. It has a convex surface and an end bent towards the ground. The strings are plucked and the sound is very smooth. The length of the instrument is around 1.5 metres (59 in).[1]
The instrument was considered to be sacrosanct and playing it was a rite bound to taboos. It was mainly used at court and in monasteries, since strings symbolised the twelve levels of the palace hierarchy.
In the West
[edit]Folklorist Nancy Thym-Hochrein has researched the instrument,[2] and musician Raphael De Cock is a contemporary player.
Related instruments
[edit]- Yatga: Mongolia
- Koto: Japan
- Guzheng: China
- Zither
- Se: China
- Gayageum: Korea
- Đàn tranh: Vietnam
- Kanun (instrument)
- Kanklės: Lithuania
- Jetigen: Kazakhstan
- Ajaeng: Korea
- Yazheng: China
Notes
[edit]- ^ "Traditional Instruments of the Khakas people - text in English". www.face-music.ch. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ International Council for Traditional Music; Columbia University. Dept. of Music (1999). Directory of traditional music. International Council for Traditional Music. p. 31. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
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