Vargan (Khomus, Kubyz): history, video, interesting facts. Musical instruments of the peoples of Kamchatka

Jew's harp (from the Latin organum musical instrument) is a magical and mysterious musical instrument that the northern peoples endowed with the ability to move the player through three worlds. The Jew's harp exists all over the world in various varieties, under different names, and invariably enchants the listener with its unique sound.

To play this little thing, you press it against your lips or teeth. They play the harp using the tongue, larynx, hands and even breathing.

In ancient times, the Vargan was revered as a sacred instrument and was used in many rites and rituals. northern peoples. In the shamanic practices of the northern peoples, the harp is the female analogue of the tambourine.

About the northern peoples and not so much

U different nations Since ancient times, the harp and its various variations have been favorite instruments.

In Central Asia (Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), instruments called chang-kobuz, temir-chang-kobuz (a variety with an iron tongue) were common. In Kyrgyzstan, the metal jew's harp was distributed under the name temir-komuz. Suyak-chang-kobuz (made from bone), kopuz (from wood) and others - two Central Asian varieties with a stretched rope instead of a tongue, which made a sound.

In Vietnam there was a plate-shaped jaw's harp - dan moi. It was made from wood, bamboo, bone or metal. In China, the jaw's harp is known as kousian, in Japan - as mukkuri.

Western countries also did not lag behind the northern peoples. There are known varieties of this instrument, common in Hungary (doromb), Norway (munharpa), Austria and Germany (maultrommel), and even in England and the USA - under the name “Jewish harp”.

On the territory of the modern CIS, Ukraine (drymba), Belarus (drymba or vurgan), and of course Russia, where it was distributed mainly in the eastern part and among the peoples of the north, can boast of their jew's harps. In Altai - komus, in Bashkiria - kubyz. In Yakutia, Tuva and Khakassia, the names of these instruments were similar - khomus. The metal nature of the instrument was indicated by the corresponding prefixes among different peoples - demir (Tuva) or timir (Khakassia). There is also a Chukchi jaw's harp, and it is called bathy yar. In the European part of Russia such instruments were also found, and they were called zubanka - of course, after the method of producing sound.

Vargan in Ugra

Among the northern peoples of the Khanty and Mansi, vargans are called tumrans and known in wood or bone. The Khanty and Mansi believe that Tumran heals the sick and drives away evil spirits.

Many modern music bands, in search of a unique and specific sound, used a harp in their work. You can find many examples. In particular, among the songs of the groups Kalinov Most, Pilot, Vopli Vidoplyasova, you can hear this wonderful instrument. Even such masters as DDT and Nautilus Pompilius dared to record a song with a harp.

The Jew's harp can safely be called not only an instrument of the northern peoples, but a truly global musical instrument. Almost any person, regardless of nationality and musical training, can express his emotions in his sounds.

Vargan (Khomus, Kubyz)

The world of shamans... He is very mysterious and attractive to modern man. In the age of technological progress and breakneck speeds, the connection between people and Nature is almost completely lost. With our subconscious we understand that interaction with it is very important, as it gives strength and fills life with meaning. This is why we are attracted to shamans - mysterious people who cherish this connection, deify and honor Nature, and know how to communicate with her, since they have the gift of immersion in a special state for communicating with spirits. For shamans, the structure of the world is very figurative and poetic. In their rituals, which are called rituals, important role vestments and attributes play. Thus, the indispensable participants in shamanic rituals are the tambourine and the harp. The tambourine opens the sorcerer's passage to other worlds, and the jew's harp serves as a talisman against evil spirits. A harp is truly a magical instrument not only in the hands of a shaman, but also an ordinary person. If you are tired of any work, then after playing the harp, you will feel that such music playing helps you relax and even enter a state of easy controlled trance. This is a great tool for improvisation and expressing different feelings.

Sound

Jew's harp belongs to a variety of self-sounding reed musical instruments. It has an unusually velvety, but at the same time “metallic” sound that is pleasant to the ear, which calms and induces reflection. Incredibly beautiful sounds and overtones, and sometimes even combined with throat singing - this is simply unimaginable magic that has a mesmerizing effect and takes you away from the realities of life.

It is not difficult to produce sounds on a harp; to do this, you need to press the base of the instrument tightly against your teeth or lips, leaving a small gap between them so that the tongue of the harp can freely fit in there, which must be pulled back when playing. The function of a resonator is performed by the oral cavity, by changing the contour of which the performer achieves a varied timbre color of the sound of the instrument. It is impossible to teach real technique for performing the jew's harp; it comes naturally during regular training. True professionals use labial, lingual, pharyngeal and laryngeal methods to produce sound, using the respiratory tract, lungs and even the diaphragm.

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Interesting Facts

The Jew's harp is an instrument that has become widespread throughout the world; each region has its own name. The names of the instrument number in the hundreds, here are some of them: Abafif, Agach-kubyz, Akiz tamburasi, Anconch, Bambaro, Berimbau, Binayo, Bivba, Birimbao, Brumle, Vanni yayai, Vargas, Varkhan, Vurgan, Kubyz, Kunkon, Myny, Panga, Rbiba, Khamys, Khomus, Khuur, Chang-kobus, Pangar and many others.
Vargan is the Russian name for the instrument, which comes from the Old Slavonic word varga, which means mouth, mouth.
Altai women love to play the jew's harp, using special welcome a game in which sound production occurs only with the tongue - without the help of hands. They use this specific method when milking cows, which, listening to the sounds of a harp, give more milk.

At one time, the Jew's harp was actively used by members of the Sicilian mafia to transmit encrypted signals.
Masters of jew's harp music claim that before you start playing a new instrument, you need to “merge” with it - give up your energy. To do this, you need to wear it for a while as a pendant around your neck or put it in your pocket and under no circumstances give the harp to another person. Only by observing these conditions will the instrument sound without much effort, bringing pleasure to the performer.
International center and also the most big museum khomus (Jew's harp), which is recognized as unique, is located in the capital of the Sokha Republic, Yakutsk. The museum's main holdings include about 9 thousand exhibits collected in different countries of the world.

Previously, in Altai and Siberia, jew's harps were made only by blacksmiths who were relatives of shamans.
The Yakut khomus was sent into space orbit in December 2011, where it stayed for more than 190 days together with the crew of the Soyuz spacecraft.
The first International Jew's harp music festival was organized in the American city of Iowa City in 1984.
The Seventh International Jew's Harp (Khomus) Festival, held in Yakutsk in 2011, was noted in the Guinness Book of Records, as a record number of participants took part in it - 1344 Jew's harp performers.
In the USSR, during the reign of I. Stalin, the harp (khomus) was banned as an instrument of shamans - sorcerers, who were subjected to severe repression during this period.
In the USA, the Jew's harp received the name "Jewish harp", but Americans cannot really explain why the instrument has such a strange name.
The electronic jew's harp was created worldwide famous performer on a harp by R. Zagretdinov in 1991.

Story

It is not known for certain when and where the history of the jew's harp, an ancient instrument that is considered folk in many countries, begins. According to the assumptions of some art historians, the time of its appearance may date back to approximately the third millennium BC. However, there is an opinion that the birth of the instrument dates back to a much earlier period, at the time when man invented the bow - a throwing weapon that served him not only for obtaining food, but also for entertainment. By inserting one end of the bow into the ground, or holding it between his toes, and the other, resting it on his teeth or on the roof of his mouth, he made sounds using sticks and fingers (this method of playing music is still practiced among the tribes of Central America). However, there is a version that the ancestor of the jew's harp could have been a simple sliver. Similar instruments made from this material are still found in our Siberia (Tuva Republic).

The exact place of origin of the jew's harp is now impossible to accurately determine. The geography of its distribution, as well as archaeological finds of the ancient instrument, is very extensive. There is a hypothesis that the Jew's harp in different regions appeared independently of each other, since the instrument of each nation has a set of unique characteristics unique to it, and also differs in material, shape and manufacturing technology. Initially, the materials for making the jew's harp were wood, bones, and in eastern countries also bamboo, but such instruments were very brittle and therefore, people began to make jew's harps from metal as soon as they knew and learned how to process it. Initially, the first metal jew's harps were a little reminiscent of modern plate instruments and were a narrow, thin plate 10 to 15 cm long and 1-2 cm wide. Over time, its shape was changed for greater expressiveness and loudness of sound. The instrument acquired a metal frame in the shape of an arc.

Already in ancient times, the harp was considered a sacred instrument and was used in religious rituals, as well as for healing purposes. In Europe, the Jew's harp became especially popular in the Middle Ages, for example, young people with the voice of the instrument attracted the attention of pretty girls. Somewhat later, the jaw's harp conquered secular salons with its exotic sound. Playing music on it was considered a fashionable activity among representatives of the upper classes.

The European state where the production of jew's harps was most actively carried out was Austria. In the 19th century, in the small town of Molln, about forty families were engaged in making instruments, who made two and a half million instruments a year. In the same 19th century, musical instrument makers and performers constantly experimented with the Jew's harp. Thus, the German musical inventor Johann Scheibler installed ten chromatically tuned jew's harps on a supporting disk; the new instrument was called the “aura.” And a little later, organ builder Friedrich Buschmann, using the reed design of the jew's harp as the basis, invented everyone's favorite harmonica.

I.Yu. Ponkratova, A.A. Konovalova

Music is an art recorded by all peoples on Earth, which is worthy of admiration and admiration, it makes people cry and laugh, it touches the most sensitive strings of the soul. Music is one of the most powerful means of influencing a person.

All people had and have their own rituals associated with the life of the community and the surrounding world. Weddings, births, deaths, hunting and harvesting, celestial phenomena and the change of seasons - all this could not be done without music and songs. The most ancient musical instrument, the flute, was discovered next to sculptures that date back to 35-40 thousand years BC. e.! . Musical instruments are also known among the indigenous peoples of the Kamchatka Peninsula - Koryaks, Itelmens, Evens, Chukchis, Aleuts.

Studying musical culture of the peoples of Kamchatka begins with the academic works of D.I. Gmelin (1752) and S.P. Krasheninnikov (1755), who published the first musical notations of folklore melodies of the peoples of Siberia. And the first information about musical practice of the peoples of Siberia is already found in the diaries of N. Witsen, included in “Travel to Muscovy 1664-1667.” (Whitsen, 1996). Some of the works written in the 18th century. and containing information about musical genres and instruments, in Russian was published in Russia only in the twentieth century. (G.V. Steller (1927), V.F. Zuev (1947), Ya.I. Lindenau (1983)). In general, according to Yu.I. Sheikin, ethnographic and linguistic literature of the 19th-20th centuries. contains many ethnomusical observations (A.I. Argentov, V.I. Verbitsky, R.K. Maak, N.A. Gondatti, V.K. Arsenyev, etc.). The special value of these observations lies in the fact that they were made in conditions of the natural functioning of culture. At that time, folklore intonation was the norm of ethnic behavior. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. musical folklore is recorded on wax rollers using T. Edison's phonograph (V.G. Bogoraz, V.I. Yokhelson, V.I. Anuchin, L.Ya. Sternberg, etc.).

Actually, our search and analysis of information about musical art and musical instruments of the peoples of the Kamchatka Peninsula showed that ethnographic sources contain information about the dance and song art of peoples, but there is very little data about their musical instruments.

If we turn to the data of famous ethnographers who worked in Kamchatka, we can note the descriptions of V.G. Bogoraza, V.I. Yokhelson, E.P. Orlova and others, which examines the life, traditions, and rituals of the peoples of the Kamchatka Peninsula, including musical folklore.

Musical instruments and their copies are available in local history museums of Kamchatka. Thus, it became possible to use the collections of two Kamchatka museums. These are the Bystrinsky District Ethnographic Museum (BREM) and the Koryak District Local History Museum (KOKM) of the village. Palana.

The BREM contains a collection of copies of musical instruments of the Koryaks of Kamchatka, made based on the results of research by an ethnographer of the Kamchatka regional local history museum Vladimir Malyukovich and donated to the museum in the 1980s. V. Malyukovich’s informants were residents of the Koryak villages of the Karaginsky, Olyutorsky, Tigilsky and Penzhinsky districts of the Kaliningrad Autonomous Okrug. According to V. Malyukovich to end of the 19th century For centuries, the coastal Koryaks - Nymylan and Reindeer - Chavchuven had all types of musical instruments: self-sounding - idiophones, wind - aerophones, stringed - chordophones, membrane - tambourines. The museum's exhibition stand includes 23 copies of musical instruments (photo 1).

In KOKM village. The stand “Musical Instruments of the Koryak District” (photo 2) demonstrates the diversity and, at the same time, the special uniqueness of musical instruments.

Let us make an attempt to restore some aspects related to the selection, production and functions of musical instruments among the peoples of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the 18th-20th centuries. Some of the materials from our research have already been published. This article is the first to present these data in a comprehensive and detailed manner.
Let's use the generally accepted scientific classification of musical instruments by Hornbostel-Sachs, according to which musical instruments are divided according to two main criteria: the source of sound and the method of producing sound. According to the first criterion, instruments are divided into self-sounding (idiophones), membrane (membranophones), string (chordophones) and wind (aerophones).

In self-sounding instruments (idiophones), the source of sound is the material itself from which the instrument or its part is made. This group includes the majority percussion instruments(except drums) .
Koryak and Itelmen idiophones are diverse. The BREM and KOKM collections include such idiophones as metal percussion konkons on a ring, konkons on a longitudinal bracket with a wooden handle, konkons on a wooden handle, bells, bells on a chain, a Koryak gong - 4 pairs of metal plates on a wooden stick with a bell at the end, rings on a triangular pendant, maracas, etc.

Maracas are the oldest percussion and noise instruments, a type of rattle, still popular today in many countries.

The Koryaks made maracas from animal bladders, after inflating them with air. Later, maracas were made from alder bark and had the shape of a triangular chumachek or a cylindrical tube with sea pebbles inside. Maracas could also be made from bivalve mollusk shells with pebbles inside (photo 3-5).
The Koryaks, Itelmens and Evens also had rod idiophone rattles (photo 6-9). The Koryak name of this instrument is “konkon angygen”, the Itelmen name is “hergyrgahakh”. Rings, bells or cone-shaped pendants were used as shaking rattles. The bells were made from sheet iron - “konkon” (photo 9). It is possible that they originated from Russian bells. But it is possible that they could have been invented independently with the appearance of imported metal in Kamchatka (from Yakutia, Primorye). These bells did not have a “tongue” and sounded during performance by striking each other. This supposedly helped to repel harmful spirits. Idiophone rattles were a necessary attribute of the shaman during rituals (photo 10).
Earlier pendants on tambourine brackets were iron rings or chains of rings (photo 11). But the iron rings were preceded by neatly split whale bone plates, almost square in shape. One of these self-sounding Itelmen instruments is kept today in the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera) (photo 12).

Jew's harp is a self-sounding reed musical instrument. It is a plate made of wood, bone, metal or a metal arc with a tongue in the middle. Distributed among many peoples of the Middle and South-East Asia and Oceania (lamellar), as well as in Europe, Central Asia and Africa (arched), exists under various national names.

The Vargan was used by almost all the peoples of Kamchatka - the Itelmens (Varyga), the Chukchi (Vannyyarar), and the Koryaks (photo 13). The Chukchi also called the plate-shaped jaw's harp "mouth tambourine." It was made from birch, bamboo (floating), bone or metal plate. Later, an arc double-tongued harp appeared.

A buzzer propeller was used to generate wind (photo 14). When it rotated, the air was cut and a sharp, piercing sound was formed, which symbolized the wind. They used buzzers and evens. The Itelmens believed that shamans, when performing rituals, with the help musical means could influence the weather, for example, disperse clouds or, conversely, cause thunder and lightning. S.P. Krasheninnikov pointed to the ritual significance of this instrument among the Itelmens, in particular to autumn holiday cleansing from sins: “The men pulled the rope, and the turntable spun, and they pulled until the rope broke, which the men cut into pieces and divided among themselves, and the turntable was hidden in a booth.”
In membrane instruments (membranophones), the source of sound is a tightly stretched membrane. They are divided into percussion (the sound is produced by hitting the membrane with a stick, mallet or hand); plucked (a string is attached to a knot under the center of the membrane, which, when plucked, transmits vibrations to the membrane), friction (sound is achieved due to friction against the membrane), etc.

From membranophones highest value has a shaman's tambourine (photo 15), which went through several evolutionary stages in Siberia: from a general traditional one to a strictly professional and caste object. Yu.I. Sheikin identified several types of tambourines, of which for the peoples of Kamchatka are Bering, Kamchatka and Kolyma-Okhotsk.
The Bering type of tambourine is known among the Eskimos, Aleuts and Chukchi - it serves as a family shrine and accompanies festive singing. Structurally, the tambourine has a round shape, the shell is thick and narrow with a longitudinal groove for the rope. Its membrane is one of the thinnest in Siberia and is made from the film of the seal’s stomach, and the handle is made of wood, walrus tusk or deer antler and is attached to the side of the shell.

The Kamchatka type of tambourine is known in all groups of Koryaks, Kereks, Alyutors, Itelmens; it retains the function of the Bering type, but in terms of material and design it is already associated with the reindeer herding tradition. Structurally, it has a round (sometimes oval) shape and the shell is medium and flat. Its membrane is made from deer skin. It is thicker than that of the Bering tambourine, and the handle has a cross shape and is attached to the back. On the inside of the tambourine, brackets with strung rings and vertebrae are attached to the shell. Among the coastal Koryaks, the membrane is made from the skin of a dog or seal, and the striking stick is covered with fur from a wolf's paw.
The Evens, who are characterized by the Kolyma-Okhotsk type of tambourine, according to E.N. Bokova, three types of tambourine are known: 1) shaman (similar to the Yukaghir), 2) song (similar to the Kamchatka) 3) for games (similar to the Chukchi, round and with an external handle). Shamanic tambourines stand out among song and game tambourines as special ritual objects on which accompanying songs is prohibited and which children should not play with.

Tambourines were the main membrane Koryak musical instruments; their membranes were made from deer skin, seal skin, film internal organs Steller sea lion, cetaceans. Tambourines were used not only for ritual purposes, but also in Koryak folk holidays and rituals. V.G. Bogoraz, describing the seasonal holiday of the Koryaks “Angyt Hololo”, noted: “...to the sound of a tambourine of a girl and a woman. began the dance, which consisted of rhythmic raising of the toes, followed by moving the heels to the right and then to the left.” .

Most Full description We find the use of the tambourine in religious practice in V.G. Bogoraza. He wrote that among the Chukchi, almost every third or fourth person claimed the ability to shamanize. All adult Chukchi in winter evenings They usually entertained themselves by playing the tambourine and singing. At the same time, they were located in the inner canopy, sometimes in the light, sometimes in the dark. The transition from such entertainment to real shamanic actions was almost imperceptible. Therefore, we can say that every Chukchi could be a shaman if he had the inclination and skill for this. Drumming and singing were the only methods used by Chukchi shamans, both experienced and novices, to communicate with the “spirits.” Usually the family tambourine was equipped with a whale bone mallet. On holidays, wooden beaters were used. Some tambourines had two bone mallets. One of them was intended only for “spirits,” since “they sometimes come” wanting to “shock themselves,” which means “beating a tambourine.” Beating a tambourine, despite the fact that it seems very easy and simple, required great skill and art from the performer. The beginner had to practice for a very long time until he achieved the required skill. The great endurance required to carry out shamanic actions and the ability to quickly move from strong excitement to a calm state were achieved only through long practice. And it really took several years of practice until the required firmness of hand and freedom of voice were acquired. During the entire preparatory period, some shamans almost did not leave the inner canopy and practiced the tambourine several times a day until they were exhausted.

The shamanic session usually proceeded as follows. After dinner, when all the pots and troughs were taken out into the outer tent, the hosts and guests who wished to attend the session entered the inner canopy. The reindeer herders made the canopy small, so the listeners had to sit in very uncomfortable positions. Among the coastal Chukchi, the internal canopy was much more spacious, and therefore those present at the session could listen to the voices of the “spirits” with greater comfort and freedom. The shaman sat in the “master’s place”, against the back wall. Free space was left around the shaman, even in a very small canopy. The tambourine was carefully examined and the skin was pulled over it. If the skin was dry and wrinkled, then it was moistened with urine and slightly dried over a lamp. Sometimes the shaman spent more than an hour preparing the tambourine until he found that the tambourine was suitable. Usually, for complete freedom of movement, the shaman took off his fur shirt and remained naked to the waist. Often he took off his torso and stockings to make it easier on his legs. When all preparations for the session were completed, the fire was extinguished, and the shamanic action began. The shaman beat the tambourine and performed the opening chants, very quietly at first. Gradually he began to sing louder and louder and soon filled the entire room with wild screams. The walls of the close canopy strongly reflected his screams. After a few minutes, this noise had such an effect on the listeners that they lost the ability to distinguish the source of the sounds, and without any strain of imagination, it began to seem to those present that the sound did not come from one specific place, but was heard from different corners of the canopy, first from one end, then from the other. .

The order in which the chants were performed was not specific. The shaman could move from one chant to another at will. Often, after a whole series of chants, the shaman repeated the one with which he began. The opening singing lasted from a quarter of an hour to thirty minutes. Then “the kelet (evil spirits) appeared.” The actions of the kelet began with the fact that they “entered” the body of the shaman. And immediately the tambourine's blows became even stronger and faster.
A small tambourine, made from the skin of a beetle or even a small louse, appears in many Koryak and Chukchi tales. When found on the tundra, it “gives its owner shamanic power.”

The tambourine was also used on the occasion of the autumn slaughter of deer. After the ritual of slaughtering the deer and taking food, all the tambourines belonging to the family, hanging on the poles of the canopy behind a curtain of raw skins, were removed, and the ritual began. The tambourines were played by all family members in turn for the rest of the day. When all the adults finished, the children took their place and, in turn, continued to beat the tambourines. While playing the tambourines, many of the adult family members called upon the “spirits” and tried to induce them to enter their body. They, imitating the shamans, imitated the cries of various animals and made sounds considered characteristic of “spirits.” These sounds are produced by the vibrating movement of the lips while shaking the head quickly and violently.

The Chukchi had a ban related to funerals - it was forbidden to beat a tambourine for three nights after the death of someone. The day when the body was taken to the burial place was considered especially dangerous in this regard. Beating a tambourine could call a dead person back home. According to our survey among the Kamchatka Evens, the same ban existed among them.

About thirty types of tambourines were noted during field research by V. Malyukovich in villages and deer camps of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug. Accompanied by tambourines, holidays, rituals were held, songs and dances were performed. During the Soviet period, it became a musical instrument, without which not a single holiday was celebrated. In modern practice, the tambourine occupies a leading place in the performances of amateur art groups.

In stringed instruments (chordophones), the source of sound is one or more strings. Strings are divided into groups: simple (zithers) - the instrument consists of strings and a tension mechanism, the resonator can be separated from the rest of the structure or absent altogether, and composite chordophones - the resonator is part of the instrument, their separation is impossible.

The BREM exhibition presents chordophones - stringed musical instruments, the sound exciters of which are gut, hair or steel strings: kykcheren (children's) - 2-string; ai-genga - 2-string, oval; eygeng small, 3-string, rectangular; kykcheren (middle) - 3-string; kykcheren (large) - 3-string (photo 16).
Koryak stringed musical instruments, according to V. Malyukovich, appeared later than others. However, in Koryak folklore there are references to a Koryak musical bow with a string, which was played by a fairy-tale hero, “performing a very beautiful melody.” The development of Koryak string instruments was apparently influenced by the influence of their neighbors - the Chukchi, Yukagirs, Yakuts in the west, the Evens on the western and eastern shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Itelmen living in the south of Kamchatka, who were in contact with the Ainu. The Bolsheretsk group of Itelmens had a musical instrument “kykhcheren”, possibly based on the name of this group of Itelmens. The Kykhcherens existed among the Koryaks of the Tigil group. The sound on this instrument was produced using a pletor made from whalebone.

The Aleuts know the zither, a plucked string musical instrument. It has a flat wooden body of irregular shape: two sides of the deck, long and short, form a right angle; the convex and concave sides lie opposite them. Along the long straight side there is a neck with frets, over which 4-5 metal strings are stretched, plucked with a plectrum placed on thumb right hand; There are 24-39 core strings outside the fingerboard; they are played with the remaining fingers of the right hand.

Lutes were common among the Chukchi. The lute is an ancient plucked string musical instrument with frets on the fingerboard and an oval body. The Chukchi called their lutes eingenge. This word means "wheezing instrument" and serves as a general name for various varieties of the instrument. Eingenge can be bowed, plucked and percussive. There is a lot in common between them. They have a hollowed, oblong body, the neck and head are made of one piece. The bowed eingenge is shaped like a bottle. The soundboard is made of a thin board nailed, three resonator holes, a short neck, the head is hollowed out in the form of a box. The pegs are horizontal. There are two strings, made of guts or hair, their arrangement is reverse to the generally accepted one. At the bottom, the strings are attached to two protrusions of the body or to buttons. The bow is made of a bent stick, onion-shaped, the hair is spread out in the form of a ribbon. For rubbing, instead of rosin, a piece of resinous wood was used (photo 17).

The length of the instrument is about 50 cm, the bow length is 50 cm. The plucked eingenge is three-stringed, several bigger size- about 85 cm. The resonator hole is triangular, the head is hollowed with a curl. Two pegs are in the head, and one is in the lower part of the neck. Gut strings of varying thicknesses are attached to the protrusion of the body at the bottom. Both bowed and plucked eygenge are found very rarely, mainly among the Anadyr Chukchi, who lived together with the Russians. The percussion eingenge is a one-string instrument, the body of which is in the form of an elongated oval trough, rounded at the bottom. The deck is attached to the body using leather strap, vein string. The string stand is attached to a strap. When played, the string is struck with a narrow whalebone plate with a flared end.

The Itelmen also had strings bowed instrument. Its body is flat, pear-shaped or triangular. The bottom deck is flat, the top is slightly convex. Both decks are attached using rope slings. Strings are made of yarn or thread. Horsehair was pulled over the bow. The length of the instrument is about 60 cm, the length of the bow is 57 cm.

Wind instruments (aerophones), the source of sound of which is air passing through sound-generating devices (mouthpiece, reed, vibrating film of a dry tubular plant, etc.). The following groups are distinguished: flute (the sound is formed as a result of the cutting of the air flow on the edge of the instrument), reed (the source of the sound is a vibrating reed), mouthpiece (the sound arises due to the vibration of the performer’s lips).

Koryak aerophones date back to ancient times. The ancient coastal and continental Koryaks had them and were made from dry tubular plants: koons, whistles and pipes from willow (longitudinal flutes), from the bark of willow, alder, birch, rowan - pipes, horns. Wooden horns were made from wood.

The BREM collection includes Itelmen kouns (pipes): a flute made of hogweed without playing holes (a clogged flute without holes on the fingerboard); a hogweed pipe with five holes and a goose feather mouthpiece; Koryak pipes made of alder bark, pipes with a mouthpiece made of a goose feather, a Koryak horn made of alder bark with a mouthpiece made of a goose feather, tweeters made of willow, whistles combined from larch and willow, between the wooden parts of which a leaf of grass is inserted (photo 18-24).

Steller G.V. wrote that the Itelmens made pipes from the stems of Kamchatka elm (Ulmaria) or “shalamea”.

Describes wooden wind instruments Itelmenov Yu. Sheikin: kalham (reed longitudinal flute without holes for fingers); engmu, or sistul (reed longitudinal flute with 3-5 side holes), as well as an instrument identified only among the Itelmens - a pika made from a cereal stem without playing holes, which is called “playing grass”.

It is known that squeakers and whistles were primarily hunting decoys, but were also used as musical instruments.

In general, to summarize, it should be noted that, indeed, the musical culture of the peoples of Kamchatka is original, striking in its originality, and permeates all spheres of life of the population, including everyday life and religious practice.
Musical instruments were used for musical accompaniment of religious and everyday songs and dances, performance musical works, for games for children and adults, they were designed to ensure success in hunting, and had artistic and aesthetic functions.

According to E.P. Orlov Itelmen national instruments by the beginning of the 20th century. they didn’t save it, although they loved the music and are ready to listen to it “endlessly.” With the arrival of the Russians, they began to master the accordion, violin, and balalaika. Balalaikas and violins were made from aspen. The wood was planed with planes and glued with fish glue, which was made from fish skin. The skin was boiled with water until the “brew” became thick.

According to V. Malyukovich, most Koryak musical instruments were distributed locally, so they developed slowly. In the pre-October period, the formation of Koryak musical instruments was not completed: they remained at the level of folk instruments, and many of them were lost forever. The main reason for their disappearance was the lack of attention to development traditional cultures peoples of Siberia and Kamchatka from the administration, but despite this, the peoples of Kamchatka have Russian balalaikas, guitars, violins, pipes, pipes, bells, bells made from new materials: iron, brass, bronze. Instead of strings made from nettle yarn and hair, copper, steel, silver, and also ox sinew appear.

Playing traditional musical instruments in the XX-XXI centuries. was not widely used in Kamchatka, except for the tambourine, which was and is the most common instrument among all the peoples of the peninsula. It was used in religious ceremonies and seasonal holidays. And in modern practice it occupies a leading place in the performances of amateur artistic groups of the peoples of Kamchatka. Another instrument in use today is the mouth harp. Playing these instruments is accompanied by events of family and commercial life, rituals of modern shamanic rituals (“household shamanism”), mass ethnic holidays and dances (photo 25).

Photo 1. Exposition of musical instruments of residents of the Kamchatka Peninsula

Photo 2. Exhibition “Musical Instruments of the Koryak District”
(Funds of the Koryak KOKM, Palana village)

Photo 3. Shell maracas
(BREM funds, Esso village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 4. Tubular-shaped alder bark maracas with pebbles
(BREM funds, Esso village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 5. Triangular-shaped maracas made of alder bark with pebbles
(BREM funds, Esso village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 6. Konkonov on the ring
(BREM funds, Esso village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 7. Concony
(BREM funds, Esso village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 8. Koryak gong
(BREM funds, Esso village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 9. Konkopil

Photo 10. Itelmen shaman with a rattle

Photo 11. Rings

Photo 12. Itelmen rattle
(KOKM funds, Palana village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 13. Jew's harp (comus)
(KOKM funds, Palana village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 14. Buzz spinner

Photo 15. Koryak tambourine
(KOKM funds, Palana village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 16. Koryak string instruments (copies)
(BREM funds, Esso village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 17. Chukotka string instrument - eingenge

Photo 18. Kouns (pipes) of the Itelmens from the trunk of hogweed
(BREM funds, Esso village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 19. Koryak pipes made of alder bark
(BREM funds, Esso village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 20. Tweeters

Photo 21. Whistles
(BKM funds, Esso village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 22. Pipe
(KOKM funds, Palana village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 23. Itelmen Koon
(KOKM funds, Palana village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 24. Cormorant feather decoy
(KOKM funds, Palana village, Kamchatka Peninsula)

Photo 25. Dance to the tambourine at a Koryak festival. XXI century, Kamchatka Peninsula

Bibliography

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Bulletin of Northeastern State University
Magadan 2015. Issue 24

Oral folk art of the Chukchi is a variety of legends, myths, fairy tales on both everyday and mythical themes, historical legends. The main character of most stories and fairy tales is mainly the raven Kurkyl, to whom many skills and magical talents are attributed. He helps people, instructs them how to live and act correctly, teaches them various crafts, introduces norms and rules into life and everyday life. Raven Kurkyl is a kind of creator of the world, along with a deity. Some fairy tales talk about the marriage of a man with animals, such as polar bear, walrus, whale, seal.

Chukotka folk tales have the following directions: mythological, everyday and fairy tales about animals. Along with fairy tales, there were legends and stories about everyday life and historical topics, which mention wars and clashes between the Chukchi and the Eskimos, Koryaks and Russians.

The musical orientation is very close in nature to the music of the Koryaks, Eskimos and Yukaghirs. Every Chukchi, throughout his life, had to compose at least three melodies, different period of your life: in childhood, in adulthood and in old age. Children's melodies were often given to their children by their parents. A person could also compose melodies for this or that important event in your life, for example, marriage, birth of a child, separation, etc. Each melody or song had a characteristic manner of performance; for example, lullabies were performed in a special “mooring” manner, which made the song similar to the singing of a crane.

Shamans had special songs. They were always performed extremely emotionally, as if conveying messages from the patron spirits. They sang their chants, accompanied by blows on a tambourine, which they beat with a special shamanic stick, thick and soft.
Among the Chukchi musical instruments, tambourines were especially common. Different Chukchi peoples had their own design. Among the coastal Chukchi, the handle of the tambourine was attached to the rim, and among the tundra Chukchi, the cross-shaped handle was located at the bottom of the tambourine. Tambourines were divided into men's, women's and children's. It was very cherished in the family and was considered a shrine. During the holidays, when singing songs, the tambourine was struck with a special stick made of whalebone.
In addition to the tambourine, the traditional folk musical instruments of the Chukchi include the plate harp, which was made from a birch, bone or metal plate. In other words, a harp is a mouth tambourine.

The stringed musical instruments of the Chukchi are lutes. They were made tubular, box-shaped, or hollowed out from a solid piece of wood. The material of the bow was whalebone, talnik splinters, and for the manufacture of strings, veins or guts were used, and only in later times - metal.

Vargan(etymology is unclear: either from organ(cf. Czech. varhan), or from Old Slavic varga- mouth, mouth), Russian name of a folk musical instrument. Refers to self-sounding reed musical instruments. According to legend, Altai shamans, playing the jew's harp, could move through three worlds by changing the timbre and type of vibrations. When playing, the harp is pressed to the teeth or lips, the oral cavity serves as a resonator. Changing the articulation of the mouth and breathing makes it possible to change the timbre of the instrument. In addition, new shades of sound are introduced by changes in the position of the diaphragm, numerous pharyngeal, laryngeal, lingual, labial and other methods of sound production.

On the territory of Russia, the culture of jew's harp music is especially developed in Altai, Bashkiria (see kubyz), Tuva and Yakutia.

In the territory of the former USSR, jew's harps are most widespread in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Types of Jew's harps

There are two main types of jew's harps - plate and arc-shaped. On the territory of Russia, arched harps are the most common.

Jew's harp is a thin, narrow wooden or bamboo, bone or metal plate. Its tongue is cut out in the middle of the record (for example, the Vietnamese dan moi).
Arc-shaped (arc) harp forged from an iron rod, in the center of which a thin steel tongue with a hook at the end is attached.

There are jew's harps with several reeds (Chinese kousyans).

Vargans of different nations

Altai Komus

In the 20th century, the Altai jaw's harp survived only in remote areas of the Altai Mountains, but thanks to the craftsmen it was restored.

Bashkir kubyz

The famous Bashkir harp - kubyz

Belarusian harp

Yakut khomus

It is one of the main musical and spiritual instruments. Masters of khomus production occupied a high position social status. The world's first and largest khomus museum is located in Yakutsk.

Hutsul drymba

Most often used in Hutsul musical life.

Balinese harp

Notes

Literature

A. Plushar. Encyclopedic Lexicon, volume 8. - Printing house of A. Plushar; S.-P., 1837 - p. 284 (Vargan).