Hands of Kazakh craftsman pass down musical culture

By Aliia Raimbekova

ASTANA (AA) – A dedicated craftsman has helped maintain musical culture for nearly two decades by making more than 50 different traditional instruments in his own workshop in Kazakhstan.

Nurjan Dilmanow, 35, who was first taught to make instruments by his elder brother, makes 52 different instruments in his own workshop in Astana.

Along with the dombra -- a Kazakh lute -- Dilmanow also makes jetigens, kobyzs, the double bass, and sherters, among others.

“The dombra is the most popular traditional instrument in Kazakhstan, and its sound has the power to make people feel better, so that I feel that I am intimate with it,” Dilmanow told Anadolu Agency.

He said he is trying to hand down dombras to future generations without changing its traditional shape.

The dombra is a stringed instrument made of hollow wood and two strings. “Our fathers were able to make it in a month with their hands, but now we can make it in a week with machines,” he said.

“So far I have made a thousand dombras, and their price varies from $300 to $1,000,” he added.

"In Kazakh tradition, you can’t have a wedding or festival without someone playing the dombra," he explained.

Meyirhan Amangeldi Orazbekov, one of Dilmanow’s customers, said: "Every Kazakh must have a dombra and know how to play it."