Lute; dutar

This dutar is frequently played solo by women. It often accompanies another long-necked lute, the wire-strung tanbur, and is considered its 'kindred spirit' (hamnafas). The tanbur and dutar are played together in a number of different contexts. They may accompany songs with words from the mystical poetry of classical writers such as Alisher Navai (1441 - 1501), at the quasi-religious early morning meal for male relatives before a wedding. This dutar has a wire string inside the body to enhance its resonance, a feature introduced by a master stringed instrument maker of Tashkent, Usta Usman Zufarov, and copied by his students, among them Rihzkhon Khojakhanov.