The rubab (UK: /rʊˈbæb/, US: /rʊˈbɑːb/) or robab is a musical instrument similar to a lute. It comes from Central Asia and is the official musical instrument of Afghanistan. People also play it in India and Pakistan, mainly among the Balochi, Kashmiri, and Punjabi communities.

Different types of rubab include the Kabuli rebab from Afghanistan, the Uyghur rawap from Xinjiang, the Pamiri rubab from Tajikistan, and the North Indian seni rebab. The rubab and its variations are found in many areas across West, Central, South, and Southeast Asia.

The Kabuli rebab gets its name from the Arabic word "rebab." In Afghanistan, it is played with a bow. However, in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, the instrument is plucked with fingers and has a different structure.

Construction

The instrument is made from one piece of wood. A hollowed-out bowl covers the head, creating a space that helps make sound. The bridge rests on the animal skin and stays in place because the strings are tight. There are three melody strings spaced a certain way apart, two or three drone strings, and up to 15 sympathetic strings. The body comes from the trunk of a mulberry tree. The head is made from animal skin, such as goat. The strings are made from the intestines of young goats, also called gut, or from nylon.

History

The earliest known record of an instrument called the rabab comes from Arabic writings from the 10th century, as noted by Henry George Farmer. This instrument, along with similar versions like the rubab, rebab, and rabob, became popular in many areas of West, Central, South, and Southeast Asia. Old Persian books mention the instrument, and Sufi poets often wrote about it in their poetry. The rubab is the traditional instrument of Khorasan in present-day Afghanistan and is widely used in countries such as Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as in the Xinjiang province of northwest China and the Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab regions of 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 the rubab as an important part. In other regions, it is called 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, the rubab has frets.

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

In 2024, UNESCO recognized the art 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, Iran. A musician playing the rubab.
• A young man with an Iranian rubab, 16th century, Safavid Empire. The rubab has an 8-shaped body that looks like a tar, but tars have both sides of the 8 covered with hide. Rubabs have a lower part covered with hide and an upper part covered with wood.
• Iraq or Egypt. A rubab from the Abbasid era, painted inside a bowl, 10th century. It looks like a spike lute, with the neck inserted into the body below the soundboard. The instrument has two strings.

Variants

In northern India, the seni rebab, which developed during the Mughal Empire, has a large hook on the back of the instrument. This feature allows musicians to carry it over their 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, questions this idea.

In Tajikistan, a similar but slightly different instrument called the rubab-i-pamir (Pamiri rubab) is played. It has a body and neck that are not as deep as other rubabs. The Pamiri rubab has six gut strings. One of these strings is attached halfway along the neck, rather than running from the head to the bridge, much like the fifth string of the 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