Qanbūs

A "qanbūs" (ArB|القنبوس is a short-necked lute that originated in Yemen and spread throughout the Arabian peninsula. Its shape is comparable to the oud. Its popularity declined during the early 20th century reign of Imam Yahya; by the beginning of the 21st century, the oud had replaced the qanbūs as the instrument of choice for Middle-Eastern lutenists.

Yemeni migration saw the instrument spread to different parts of the Indian Ocean. In Muslim Southeast Asia (especially Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei) the instrument is called the gambus, and sparked a whole musical genre of its own. In the Comoros it is known as "gabusi", and in Zanzibar as "gabbus".

References

*Poche, Christian. "Qanbūs". " [http://www.grovemusic.com Grove Music Online] " (subscription required). ed. L. Macy. Retrieved on August 15 2007.
* [http://www.musicmall-asia.com/malaysia/instruments/gambus.html Gambus - Musical instruments of Malaysia]
* [http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/files/21757/10891257253hilarian.pdf/hilarian.pdf The gambus (lutes) of the Malay world: its origins and significance in zapin Music] , Larry Hilarian, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 06 Jul 2004
* Charles Capwell, [http://www.jstor.org/pss/768104 Contemporary Manifestations of Yemeni-Derived Song and Dance in Indonesia] , Yearbook for Traditional Music, Vol. 27, (1995), pp. 76-89

ee also

* Mirwas
* Zapin
*Oud