The tanbūra or "Kissar" is a bowl lyre of East Africa and the Middle East. It takes its name from the Persian tanbur via the Arabic tunbur (), though this term refers to long-necked lutes. The instrument probably originated in Upper Egypt and the Sudan in Nubia and is used in the Fann At-Tanbura in the Persian Gulf Arab States. It also plays an important role in zār rituals.
According to ethnomusicologist Christian Poché, it has been played in "Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, North Yemen, Southern Iraq and the Gulf States."
See also
Krar
References
External links
https://web.archive.org/web/20080524061339/http://www.octm-folk.gov.om/meng/instrument_mel02.asp The Tambura The zar and the tumbura cults Sudanese lyre audio samples