Vargan (Khomus, Kubyz): history, video, interesting facts

Vargan (Khomus, Kubyz)

The world of shamans ... He is very mysterious and attractive to modern man. In the age of technological progress and mad speeds, the connection between people and Nature is almost completely lost. We understand with our subconscious that interaction with it is very important, because it gives strength and life fills with meaning. That is why we are attracted by shamans - mysterious people who cherish this relationship, deify and worship Nature, and know how to communicate with it, because they have the gift of immersion in a special state to communicate with spirits. The shamans have a device of the world very figuratively and poetically. In their rites, which are called kamlaniy, an important role is played by robes and attributes. Thus, the indispensable participants of shamanistic rituals are the tambourine and the harp. The tambourine opens the wizard to the other worlds, and the harp serves as a talisman from evil spirits. The harp is a truly magical tool, not only in the hands of a shaman, but also an ordinary person. If you are tired of any work, then playing on the harp, you will feel that such music helps to relax and even enter into a state of light controlled trance. This is a great tool for improvisation and expression of different feelings.

Read the history of the vargan and many interesting facts about this musical instrument on our page.

Sound

Vargan refers to a variety of self-sounding reed musical instruments. He has a pleasant to the ear unusually velvety, but at the same time, "metallic sound", which soothes and adjusts to think. Incredibly beautiful sounds and overtones, and sometimes even in combination with throat singing - this is simply unimaginable magic that acts fascinatingly and leads away from the realities of life.

Removing the sounds on the vargan is not difficult, for this you need to firmly press the base of the instrument to your teeth or lips, leaving a small gap between them so that the tongue of the vargan, which you need to delay while playing, will freely enter. The function of the resonator is performed by the oral cavity, when changing the contour of which the performer achieves a different timbre color for the instrument's sound. It is impossible to teach the real technique of performance on the vargan; it comes itself during regular trainings. Authentic professionals use lip, lingual, pharyngeal and laryngeal methods to extract sound, using the airways, lungs and even the diaphragm.

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Interesting Facts

• Vargan - a tool that has received wide distribution throughout the world, in each region has its own name. The instrument names number in the hundreds, here are some of them: Abafiv, Agach-Kubyz, Akiz Tamburasi, Andeen, Bambaro, Berimbau, Binayo, Bivba, Birimbo, Brumle, Vanni yayay, Vargas, Varhan, Vurgan, Kubyz, Kunkon, Myany, Varny, Vargas, Varhan, Vurgan, Kubyz, Kunkon, Mynyy, Varny, Varhan, Vurhan, Kubyz, Kunkon, Myany, Varnya, Vargas, Varhan, Vurhan, Kubyz, Kunkon, Mynyy, Varny, Varhan, Vurhan, Kubyz, Kunkon, Mynyy, Varny, Varhan, Vurhan, Kubyz, Kunkon, Myany Ribiba, Khamys, Khomus, Huur, Chang-kobus, Pangar and many others.
• Vargan - the Russian name of the instrument, which is derived from the old Slavic word varga, which means mouth, mouth.
• Altai women love to play music on the vargan, using a special technique of the game, in which the sound extraction occurs only in the language - without the help of hands. They apply this specific method when milking cows, which, when listening to the sounds of a vargan, produce more milk.

• At one time, the harp was actively used by members of the Sicilian Mafia to transmit encrypted signals.
• The masters of vargan music say that before you start playing a new instrument, you need to “merge” with it - give away your energy. To do this, you need to wear it as a pendant around your neck for some time or put it in your pocket and in no case transfer the harp to another person. Only by observing these conditions, the instrument will sound without special efforts, bringing pleasure to the performer.
• The international center, as well as the largest museum of khomus (vargan), which is recognized as unique, is located in the capital of the Republic of Sokh, Yakutsk. There are about 9 thousand exhibits collected in different countries of the world in the museum’s fixed assets.

• Earlier in the Altai and Siberia, the vargans made only those blacksmiths, who were relatives of shamans.
• In December 2011, the Yakut Khomus was sent into space orbit, where he and the crew of the Soyuz spacecraft spent more than 190 days.
• The first International Vargan Music Festival was organized in Iowa City in 1984.
• The Seventh International Vargan Festival (Khomus), held in Yakutsk in 2011, was noted in the Guinness Book of Records, as a record number of participants took part in it - 1344 performers on the vargan.
• In the USSR, during the reign of I.Stalin, the harp (khomus) was banned as an instrument of shamans - sorcerers, who were severely repressed during this period.
• In the United States, the harp was called the "Jewish harp", but why the instrument has such a strange name, Americans cannot really explain.
• The electronic harp was created by the world-famous performer on the harp R. Zagretdinov in 1991.

Design

The construction of the vargan is very simple. The principle of the instrument is a fixed base, and in it a freely oscillating tongue. The construction of a vargan can be either integral, that is, the tongue is simply cut in the central part of the instrument, or composite - the tongue is attached to the base. The shape of the tool can be either arcuate or in the form of a thin narrow plate.

• Arc-shaped vargans are made by forging from a metal rod, and in the center of the instrument a steel tongue is attached with a hook at the end.
• Lamellar vargans are a solid plate with a slot in the middle and with a tongue attached or cut. Lamellar tools are made of wood, bamboo, bone, less often of metal.

Varieties

The harp, which has become very widespread throughout the world, has a very large number of varieties. Some historians - art historians believe that in many regions the instrument appeared independently, independently of each other, therefore every nation has not only its name, but also the features inherent in the vargan only of a given locality. There are a lot of variants of instruments, differing in forms, materials used in the manufacture, methods of sound extraction, and here are some of them:

• Yakut khomus - made of forged steel. The main difference is that the sound is loud and long-lasting with a “popping” timbre, which is a result of the increased size of the tongue.

• Altai komuz - tool of small size. The loop of the frame has a smooth - oval shape. The tool has a light tongue.
• German maultrommel - a tool of sufficiently large size with a low and powerful sound.
• Vietnamese Dan My - plate instrument with soft, long and high sounds. During sound extraction, it is pressed not to the teeth, but to the lips.
• Nepalese Murchunga - a small tool with an unusual shape: the tongue is extended in the opposite direction. The sound is amazing and unique.

It is also worth noting that musicians are constantly trying to improve their favorite instrument. As a result of such upgrades, three-language, rocker, electronic, multichannel and other vargan species appeared.

Application

The harp is a versatile musical instrument, the range of which is very diverse. In addition to its use in ethnic music, it is widely used both in classical music and in various modern musical directions, such as rock, folk, pop. The harp is very popular among young people and is also a ritual instrument of Altai and Yakut shamans - sorcerers. In addition, the harp is used in healing practices that scientists are now very interested in: the instrument has healing properties and has a positive effect on the work of all human organs. It cleans the lungs well, has anti-stress effect, and also has a cosmetic effect - smooths wrinkles.

Performers

One can learn how to extract sounds on a vargan in a few minutes, but not everyone is able to perform a virtuoso instrument performance; in order to acquire a certain skill one needs to train a lot. Outstanding varganisty deserve special veneration - innovators who have made a significant contribution to the development of mastery with their creativity - Ivan Alekseev, Anton Bruen, Robert Zagretdinov, Tran Kwan Hai, Rimma Madvarova, Luka Turnin. There are a lot of talented musicians who, at the present time, amaze listeners with their virtuoso instrument playing, each barganist has his own unique style of performance. Some performers not only masterfully improvise, but also experiment very interestingly in avant-garde styles of modern music, others captivate listeners with an ensemble performance or "electronic" sound of the instrument. Among the present-day Varganists, it is necessary to point out such virtuosos as A. Siladi, A. Beskrovny, N. Shumarov, O. Podluzhny (Uutai), B. Darysheva, B. Bairyshev, A. Danilov, N. Oorzhak, M. Zainetdinova, H Sobolev.N. Ducheva, O. Prass.

Story

When and where the history of the vargan begins - the oldest instrument that is considered popular in many countries, is not reliably known. According to the assumptions of some art historians, the time of its appearance can be dated to approximately the third millennium BC. However, it is believed that the birth of the instrument falls on a much earlier period, at the time when the man invented the bow — a throwing weapon that served him not only for food, but also for entertainment. By inserting one end of the bow into the ground, or pinching it between the toes, and the other, pressing his teeth or palate, he extracted sounds with the help of sticks and fingers (this way of playing music still exists among the tribes of Central America). Nevertheless, there is a version that a simple sliver could be the progenitor of the vargan. Similar tools made from this material are still found in our Siberia (the Tyva Republic).

The exact place of origin of the vargan is now impossible to establish. The geography of its distribution, as well as the archaeological finds of an ancient instrument is very extensive. There is a hypothesis that the vargan in different regions appeared independently of each other, since every people’s tool has a set of unique characteristics inherent only to it, and it also differs in material, form, and manufacturing technology. Initially, wood and bones served as material for the manufacture of a vargan, but bamboo was also used in eastern countries, but such tools were very brittle and that is why a person began to make vargans from metal as soon as he learned and learned to work it. Initially, the first metal vargans looked a bit like modern lamellar instruments and were a narrow, thin plate with a length of 10 to 15 cm and a width of 1-2 cm. Over time, its shape was changed for greater expressiveness and loudness of sound. The tool has acquired a metal frame in the shape of an arc.

Already in ancient times, the harp was considered a sacred instrument and was used in religious rituals, as well as for healing purposes. In Europe, the harp became particularly popular in the Middle Ages, for example, young people with the voice of the instrument attracted the attention of pretty girls. Somewhat later, the vargan with its exotic sound subdued and social salons. Making music on it was considered a fashionable occupation among the representatives of the upper classes.

The European state, where the production of varganov most actively engaged, was Austria. In the XIX century, in the small town of Moln, about forty families were engaged in the manufacture of instruments, which made two and a half million instruments a year. In the same XIX century masters of musical instruments and performers constantly experimented with the harp. So the German music inventor Johann Scheibler installed on the supporting disk ten vargans tuned for chromatism, a new instrument called the "aura". A little later, organ master Friedrich Bushman, based on the tongue-like construction of the vargan, invented everyone’s favorite harmonica.

The vargan is a very interesting musical instrument that, with its charming voice, creates a magical atmosphere that connects the past with the future. The simplicity of the design, but at the same time, the complexity of the performance on it today causes great interest among musicians and generates the discovery of new techniques and ways of sound production, which speaks of the undisclosed capabilities of this ancient instrument.