Credited to Afghanistan. UNESCO's 2024 inscription is shared by Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and the instrument is played across Central and South Asia.
How it began
The origin of the rubab is not firmly dated. UNESCO calls it one of the oldest musical instruments in Central, South and Southwest Asia. The earliest written record of an instrument called rabab is in 10th century Arabic texts, and the name then spread with related instruments across West, Central, South and Southeast Asia. It appears in old Persian books and in Sufi poetry.
The Afghan form is younger. According to research summarized by RILM, it first appeared between the 18th and 19th centuries, and its sound as known today emerged in the 20th century.
How it works
The rubab is a short-necked plucked lute. The body is carved from a single piece of dried mulberry wood and its face is covered with skin, which gives a lively, percussive tone. A set of sympathetic strings, which are not plucked but ring in resonance with the played strings, sets its sound apart from other Central Asian lutes. Unlike the sarod, it has frets. Instruments are often decorated with inlaid bone or mother-of-pearl. Making one draws on carpentry, woodcarving, marquetry and inlay.
How it spread
The rubab is played in Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and in Pakistan and northwest India. It is regarded as the ancestor of the north Indian sarod. It was also the first instrument used in Sikhism, played by Bhai Mardana, companion of Guru Nanak.
In the 20th century the Kabul musician Ustad Mohammad Omar made the instrument famous in Afghanistan and abroad. He is said to have altered it, inspired by the sarod, and Kabul makers such as Juma Khan Qaderi copied his changes. This Kabuli rubab gradually replaced other Afghan rubab practices.
Who pushed back
Since returning to power in 2021, Taliban authorities have banned music in public in Afghanistan, including performances and playing recordings in restaurants, cars and broadcasts. They have closed music schools and smashed or burned instruments, as they did under their rule from 1996 to 2001, when only religious poetry and unaccompanied chant were allowed. Some makers have kept working. One rubab builder quoted in press coverage said the heritage the instrument holds must not be lost.
Where it stands today
In December 2024 UNESCO inscribed the art of crafting and playing the rubab on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, on a joint nomination from Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The listing notes that the craft is usually passed on within families by hands-on practice, that makers are mostly men while players include people of all genders, ages and backgrounds, and that the instrument is played at weddings, funerals, gatherings and in multinational ensembles, including among migrant communities.
