THE EARLIEST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT IN OMAN

Musical shell instrument (jam/yam)
Ra’s al-Hamra (Muscat Governorate) Shell
5,000–4,000 BCE (Late Stone Age)

Among all the large shells uncovered over the grave coverings in Ra’s al-Hamra archaeological site in Muscat Governorate, a few of them were carefully perforated on the spiral zone in order to be used as a horn or trumpet. They were blown on occasion of funeral ceremonies and then abandoned on the grave afterwards. There is substantial ethnographical documentation, from the Mediterranean to the Polynesian contexts, of large gastropods pierced and employed as trumpets in funerary rites.

AL-BARGHAM (VAR. BURGHAM)

Classification: Wind instrument
Type: Horn
A traditional trumpet made from the horn of an oryx or ibex.

It is played by blowing into one hole positioned close to the pointed end of the instrument, although, it is not a melodic instrument as it produces only one or two tones. It was used as a trumpet in the razhah and Azi genres, the lyrics of which are poetic and centred on praise and glory. Such horns have been found in the governorates of ad-Dakhiliyah, North ash-Sharqiyah, South ash-Sharqiyah, North al-Batinah, South al-Batinah, ad-Dhahirah and Muscat.

QABBŪS

String instrument (chordophone)
Wood, goat skin, metal, animal matter

The roots of this stringed instrument can be traced back to the civilisation of South Arabia. In Yemen, it is known as qambus/qanbus or at-tarab/at-tarabi. The instrument is made from a single piece of wood; the upper surface of the wider end is covered with goat skin. It has four strings, the first made of metal and the other three made from animal intestines. The strings are plucked with a pick made of bull horn or plastic. The qabbus is associated with the sawt al qabbus, which is performed in one of the stages of the sawt ash-sharh in Dhofar Governorate.

TAMBŪRA

String instrument (cordophone)
Wood, goat skin, animal matter

The TAMBURA is a stringed instrument believed to date back to the Mesopotamian Civilisation and is used in the tambura rituals of Sur. Sometimes referred to as a ‘bowl lyre’, it is made of wood and has a sound box covered with goat skin. The instrument has six strings, which were formerly made of camel intestines, but metal or plastic wires are used now. The strings are plucked with a pick made of bull horn, and simultaneously tightened or released with the player’s palm or fingers.