The rubab (UK: /rʊˈbæb/, US: /rʊˈbɑːb/) or robab is a lute-like musical instrument from Central Asia. It is Afghanistan’s national musical instrument and is also played in India and Pakistan, mainly by the Balochis, Kashmiris, and Punjabis.

There are different types of the rubab, such as the Kabuli rebab of Afghanistan, the Uyghur rawap of Xinjiang, the Pamiri rubab of Tajikistan, and the North Indian seni rebab. The instrument and its variations are found in West, Central, South, and Southeast Asia.

The Kabuli rebab from Afghanistan is named after the Arabic rebab. It is played with a bow. In Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, the rubab is plucked and has a different design compared to the Kabuli rebab.

Construction

The instrument is made from one piece of wood. The head covers a hollow bowl, which acts as the sound chamber. The bridge is placed on the skin and is held in place by the tightness of the strings. It has three melody strings that are tuned in fourths, two or three drone strings, and up to 15 sympathetic strings. The body is made from the trunk of a mulberry tree, the head is made from animal skin such as goat, and the strings are made from the intestines of young goats (gut) or nylon.

History

The earliest written record of an instrument called the rabab is found in Arabic texts from the 10th century, as noted by Henry George Farmer. This instrument, along with similar versions such as rubab, rebab, and rabob, became popular in many areas of West, Central, South, and Southeast Asia. Old Persian writings mention the instrument, and many Sufi poets refer to it in their poetry. It is the traditional instrument of Khorasan in present-day Afghanistan and is commonly used in countries like Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as in Xinjiang province in northwest China and the Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab regions in northwest India.

The rubab is called "the lion of instruments" and is one of Afghanistan’s two national instruments, the other being the zerbaghali. Classical Afghan music often includes this instrument as an important part. In other places, it is known as the Kabuli rebab, which is different from the Seni rebab used in India. The Kabuli rubab has a slightly different appearance compared to the Indian rubab. It is the ancestor of the north Indian sarod, but unlike the sarod, it has frets.

The rubab was the first instrument used in Sikhism. It was played by Bhai Mardana, a companion of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh leader. When Guru Nanak received a spiritual message called a shabad, he would sing, and Bhai Mardana would play the rubab. He was known as a rababi. Sikhs, such as the Namdharis, continue the tradition of playing the rubab.

In 2024, UNESCO recognized the skill of making the rubab as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

• Late 12th to early 13th century, Iran. Musicians playing the ney, rubab, and daf.
• Late 12th to early 13th century A.D., Iran. A musician playing the rubab.
• A young man with an Iranian rubab, 16th century, Safavid Empire. The rubab has an 8-shaped body similar to a tar, but tars have both sides of the 8 covered with hide. Rubabs have a lower section covered with hide and an upper hollow section covered with wood.
• Iraq or Egypt. A rubab from the Abbasid era, painted on the inside of a bowl, 10th century CE. The instrument looks like a spike lute (the neck is inserted into the body, beneath the soundboard). It has two strings.

Variants

In northern India, the seni rebab was created during the Mughal Empire. It has a large hook at the back of its head, which makes it easier for a musician to carry it over the shoulder and play it while walking.

The Sikh rabab was traditionally a local Punjabi version called the 'Firandia' rabab (Punjabi: ਫਿਰੰਦੀਆ ਰਬਾਬ Phiradī'ā rabāba). However, Baldeep Singh, an expert in Sikh musical traditions, disagrees with this idea.

In Tajikistan, a similar but slightly different instrument called the rubab-i-pamir (Pamiri rubab) is played. It has a shallower body and neck. The rubab from the Pamir region has six strings made from animal gut. One of these strings is attached partway down the neck, not from the head to the bridge, similar to the fifth string on an American banjo.

Notable players

• Bhai Mardana, companion of Guru Nanak and one of the first Sikhs (1459–1534)
• Ustad Mohammed Omar (1905–1980), Rabab player from Kabul, Afghanistan
• Ustad Rahim Khushnawaz (1943–2011), Rabab player from Herat, Afghanistan
• Ustad Homayun Sakhi, Rabab player from Kabul, Afghanistan
• Ustad Ramin Saqizada, Rabab player from Afghanistan
• Ustad Sadiq Sameer, Rabab player from Afghanistan
• Ustad Shahzaib Khan, Rabab player from Nowshera/Nokhar, Pakistan
• Ustad Waqar Atal, Rabab player from Peshawer, Pakistan
• Ustad Hamyuo Sakhi, Rabab player from Afghanistan
• John S. Baily, emeritus professor of Ethnomusicology at Goldsmiths, University of London
• Khaled Arman (born 1965), Rabab player and guitarist from Kabul, Afghanistan
• Daud Khan Sadozai, Afghan Rubab and Sarod player from Kabul, Afghanistan