Name of Object:

Buzuq

Location:

Beirut, Lebanon

Holding Institution:

Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music

 About The Lebanese University, Beirut

Date of Object:

19th century

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Wood

Provenance:

Lebanon

Description:

The word buzuq comes from Turkish. Bashi-buzuq for example, literally meaning 'burnt head', was one of the nicknames given to the Ottoman troops. The buzuq is of hybrid origin and thus is considered neither a traditional Arabic instrument nor a traditional Turkish instrument. Used for dabke music, the instrument was originally associated with the traveller communities in Lebanon. It consists of a long, fretted neck with four sets of double strings, and is played with a plectrum.

Type of Object

Musical instrument; woodwork

Citation of this web page:

Jeff El-Msanne, Hassan El Masri, Remy Nader "Buzuq" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;lb;118;en

Prepared by: Jeff El-Msanne, Hassan El Masri, Remy Nader
Copyedited by: Flaminia Baldwin

MWNF Working Number: LB 135