Membrane mirliton musical instrument (chĕrpĕnkĕlli)
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Tura kupăs or turapa kalani — playing a comb (tura means “comb”). A thin sheet of birch bark or paper is placed on the comb, and a melody is hummed through the lips.
Self-sounding plucked musical instrument (chĕpĕtmelly)
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Timĕr kupăs (alternative names – pankălti, vargan, vărăm tuna) — a jaw harp–type instrument. At one time it was widely used among the Chuvash.
Parappan
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The sound of an authentic Chuvash parappan is deep, powerful, yet soft and not harsh. A double-headed drum was one of the most widespread Chuvash instruments. V. M. Krivonosov begins his well-known article Brief Description of Chuvash Musical Instruments with the drum.
Tünkki
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A resonant drum. It consisted of a clay pot with a stretched skin membrane pulled over the neck.
Tunkăr
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A type of tambourine. In other variants it may have been called tankarma or hankarma.
Tunkăr was made from a wooden hoop (today plywood can be used), covered with stretched skin on one side.
Shakărtma
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Shakărtma was also used as a signaling and noise instrument, for example by watchmen or in rituals where a loud background was needed to drive away evil spirits. Similar instruments could function as children’s rattling toys.
Çatărka
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This instrument also functioned as a noise-making device in different purification rituals. If the rite involved driving away evil spirits, the rattles and other noise instruments were supposed to be destroyed afterward, usually by burning.
Khănkărav
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A khănkărav is a hollow sphere with a loose metal pellet rolling inside. It was mainly used, like other bells, to decorate harnesses and tambourines. Larger ones were hung on domestic animals.
Shănkărav
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Shănkărav bells were cast from an alloy of copper and silver. They served as an essential decoration of festive horse harnesses and of certain other items, such as tambourines.
Viç kĕtes
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It was made from a metal rod (steel or bronze) bent into a triangle; horseshoes could also be used.
Chankărti
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It could take different forms, but the main sounding elements were metal parts and rings.
Pitlĕh
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In the past the shield may also have been known by the name Khulkan. According to informants, the pitlĕh was struck with an object or stamped on with the foot to produce rhythm while accompanying other musical instruments.
Chan
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It functioned as a signaling instrument to warn of fires, gather villagers, and similar purposes, with different signal patterns used for different situations. During winter blizzards people struck the chan at long intervals so that lost travelers could find their way back to the village.
Khăvăl
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A hollow wooden trunk used by girls to soften woven cloth by beating it. This work was typically done in late spring and summer, in the evenings.
MEMBRANE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (ÇURKHAKHLİSEM)
The sound source of membranophones is a tightly stretched membrane, usually made of skin. Membrane musical instruments (çurkhakhlisem) are divided into two subgroups: percussion (çapmallisem) and mirliton (chĕrpĕnkĕlli). Percussion membrane instruments of the drum type were known to the ancestors of the Chuvash since ancient times. In general, drum culture is more characteristic of eastern and southern peoples and less common among northern forest populations. For example, drums were not traditionally used by Finno-Ugric peoples; according to scholars, Siberian tambourines were borrowed from steppe tribes. Percussion instruments (çapmallisem) include: parappan, tünkkĭ, tunkăr, shănkăravlă parappan, hănkăravlă parappan; the mirliton subgroup (chĕrpĕnkĕlli) includes tura kupăs.
SELF-SOUNDING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (HĂY TĔLLĔN YANRAKANNİSEM)
SELF-SOUNDING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (HĂY TĔLLĔN YANRAKANNİSEM)
