The danguba tambura
Novi Sad, the middle of the 19th century
wood
cutting, gouging, drilling, marquetry, varnishing, gluing
length = 64,5 cm
length of the bridge = 4 cm
body = 12 x 19,5 x 7,2 cm
length of the neck = 43,8 cm
POH-444/1920
The Collection of Musical instruments by Franjo Ksaver Kuhač
The danguba tambura, or as Kuhač also calls it, tambura for singing, is made of waxed bright yellow piece of wood. The peg box is black and waxed. A metal plate is inserted on the front, and a piece of small brown wood is inserted on the sound box for decoration. The tambura has five metal pegs and five strings, and there are eleven frets.
Inscribed on the tambura is: “a solo instrument also called danguba”
The danguba tambura, tanbura for singing or solo tanbura is used for doing very simple melodies or to accompany very simple dances. This tambura was given to Kuhač by a “departmental advisor to Dr Stojanović (in Zagreb) which was given to him by a friend from Bačka” (Kuhač, 1877: 67)
