When silent it’s a figure of 8: when played it symbolises infinity. It’s called a “tar”; it comes from the same family as the lute; and its double heart is linked to millions of others. With its 11 strings, the Azeri tar’s musical range makes it the most popular instrument in the Caucasus. She learnt more about it from an Azeri specialist instrument-maker.
Tars are made solely by hand, using specific techniques, often passed down through generations of the same families.
Formerly they had just five or six strings: by the nineteenth century they had 11.
Five years’ ago, the art of making and playing the tar was added to UNESCO’s representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Azeri Iranians: Roots and Identity
