The tulum (Laz: გუდა, romanized: guda) is a musical instrument and a type of bagpipe from the Black Sea region of Turkey. It does not have a drone and has two parallel chanters. The tulum is often played by the Laz people, Black Sea Turks, Hemshin peoples, and Pontic Greeks, especially Chaldians. It is an important instrument in the music of areas such as Pazar, Hemşin, Çamlıhemşin, Ardeşen, Fındıklı, Arhavi, Hopa, and other districts of Artvin. It is also played in villages of the Tatos range, which is the area between the provinces of Rize and Trabzon in İspir. The tulum is the main instrument for people who move their animals seasonally in the northeastern provinces of Anatolia. Like the kemençe in its region, the tulum influences the style of dance and entertainment music for those who consider it "our music."

Terminology

Bagpipes from the Near East have different names in various regions. Some examples are:

• Guda (Laz)
• Gudastvri, გუდასტვირი (Georgian)
• Ç'ip'oni (Artvin, Adjara, Lazona)
• Dankiyo (Pontic Greek, Romeika)
• Parkapzuk, Պարկապզուկ (Armenian)
• Shuvyr (Mari people, North Circassians)
• Shabr, Shapar (Chuvash)
• Tulum (Azerbaijani, Turkish).

Etymology

The word "tulum" comes from the Turkish word "tulum," which means "a skin container." This Turkish word itself comes from the Proto-Turkic word "tōl-" meaning "to be full."