Folk shawm of West and Central Asia, south-eastern Europe and parts of North Africa. Its general form is a conical wooden tube 30–45 cm long, but its length may extend to 60 cm. It is played with a double reed and usually has a pirouette.
The instrument is widely distributed under various closely related names: in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (surnāy), Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (surnāy); Kashmir and Rajasthan (surnāī); Iran and Afghanistan (sornā); Pakistan (sūrnā, but more usually śahnāī); Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan and to a lesser extent Georgia (zurna/zūrnā); northern Greece and Bulgaria (zournas); Macedonia and southern Yugoslavia (zurla); Albania (surle) and Romania (surla).
The instrument is also found in North Africa, although terminology is more varied: Tunisia (zukra); Algeria (sometimes zūrnā, but more generally raita). The ghayta/raita of Morocco, Algeria and Libya (see Gaita (i)), and the Mizmār of Egypt are essentially the same instrument. Different but related forms of shawm are widely distributed in India (Śahnāī); Ladakh (sur-na); Sumatra and West Malaysia (Sarunai), China (Suona, often popularly called laba) and Inner Asia (Tibetan rgya-gling; Mongolian bishgüür).
The instrument we know as the surnāy/zurna became established after the advent of Islam (7th century). Its wide diffusion relates to the expansion of Islamic culture. During the pre-Islamic period types of aerophone with a reed existed in Mesopotamia, North Africa and Arabia; the sūr is mentioned in the Qur’an as an aerophone and in the hadīth (traditions of the Prophet Muhammad). In classical Arabic texts we find surnā, surnāy, surnā and surnāy. (The later use of zis due to Ottoman influence.) The instrument was probably a synthesis of types from Iran, Mesopotamia, Syria and Asia Minor, introduced into military bands and spread into newly conquered areas. During the Ottoman period the zurna spread westwards into Europe in the mehter bands (see Janissary music). A related type of ensemble known as Naqqārakhāna was used for royal, ceremonial, civic or military music in West and Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia and Sumatra. The suona arrived in China some time before the 16th century, probably during the 14th century, perhaps from Central Asia.
The instrument has several parts. The double reed consists of two blades of cane-like reed (usually Arundo donax) nearly 2 cm in length. For storage these are held closed with a bridle. The double reed fits over a small tubular staple, usually of brass, joining to the body. The player's lips press on the pirouette (or rosette), a small disc of wood, ivory, mother-of-pearl or other material. Not all instruments have one. In models belonging to the Ottoman region, following through into the Caucasus and Central Asia, a fork is placed inside the body of the instrument. This ingenious device serves to convert the air column inside from a cylindrical shape into a conical one; this causes over-blowing to the octave rather than the 12th.
The body is made of a single conical piece of wood, widening towards the end, which is bell-shaped or flared. Different types of wood are used, apricot being the most common. There are six or (usually) seven finger-holes and one thumb-hole. The body may be ornamented with metal plates, sometimes made of finely engraved silver. Turkish instruments may have further ornamentation, and Azerbaijani instruments are often enamelled and ornamented with lazurite and metal or silver rings. The bell-shaped end of the surnāy is called the ka’ba. This is the name of the holiest place of Muslim worship in Mekka and explains the wide use of this instrument in Islamic culture.
The compass of this type of shawm is between one and a half to two octaves, depending on the model. The full compass is rarely used. Playing technique involves continuous ‘circular breathing’ (fig.1).
An outdoor instrument, the shawm has a bright, powerful sound. Its uses were various: military and ceremonial bands; funeral music (which survives in Armenia); escorting notables to Friday prayers; marking the beginning of a pilgrimage; sentry duty; annual celebrations of the flooding of the Nile; and within types of shadow puppet theatre, Turkish karagöz shadow puppets and wayang kulit in Malaysia.
In most areas the instrument is now confined to festive outdoor music, usually played in small ensembles (often two shawms and one or more drums) or simply as a duo of shawm and drum. The accompanying drum is usually the double-headed cylindrical dohol (Iran and Central Asia), davul (Turkey and south-eastern Europe) or tabl (Arab world). Sometimes there are two or three shawms within an ensemble (as in Kashmir and Egypt). Two may play in unison, or one may maintain a drone. Within an ensemble there may be different sizes, e.g. in Turkey the large kaba zurna, middle-sized orta zurna and small cura zurna. Sizes also vary regionally: in Uzbekistan the Khorezm type is larger than that of Tashkent.
Nowadays the shawm and drum ensemble provides music at weddings, circumcision parties, dances, games, competitions, national independence celebrations, festivals, demonstrations and marches, and it enlivens communal work such as ditch-digging. At wrestling festivals at Edirne, Turkey, each team has its davul and zurna ensemble, which uses a rhythmic code to comment on the various stages of the match. In Khorezm, Uzbekistan, circumcision parties (qurly toy) may gather two to five thousand people. There the surnāy is the main instrument for women musicians as well as men; elsewhere male players are the norm.
In many regions this instrument is played by members of the lowest social classes. In Turkey (including south-eastern Kurdish areas), Greece and the Balkans players are Gypsies. In Afghanistan barber-musicians play the sornā. Arabs seem to have shown some disinclination, or even aversion, towards playing the instrument. In Syria it is played by various groups of non-Arabs including Ghorbats, and in the Gulf States the surnāy is the prerogative of Baluchis and Africans.
The Central Asian sornā/surnāy reveals connections with the maqām system of art music. In western Afghanistan some pieces bear the names of ‘Persian maqāms’ (maqām-e fārsī), e.g. Now Rūz Sabā, Now Rūz ‘Arab, Shur, Chahārgāh, Zāoul, Dūgāh Olang and Shahnāz-e Jām. In Uzbekistan some mukom pieces may have originated from surnāy instrumental versions, e.g. Surnāy Manosy, Surnāy Dugohi, Surnāy Munojāty and Surnāy Iroki. Uzbekistan has three different regional schools: Khorezm, Ferghana and Tashkent.
EI1 (‘Mizmār’, H.G. Farmer)
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CHRISTIAN POCHÉ/R (with RAZIA SULTANOVA)