The tradition & historical record
2 min read · 2 sourcesThe chuniri (Georgian: ჭუნირი, romanized: ch'uniri) is a bowed musical instrument of Georgia. 1
History
Only the mountain inhabitants of Georgia preserve the bowed chuniri in its original form. This instrument is considered to be a national instrument of Svaneti and is thought to have spread in the other regions of Georgia from there. Chuniri has different names in different regions: in Khevsureti, Tusheti (Eastern mountainous parts) its name is chuniri, and in Racha, Guria (western parts of Georgia) chianuri. Chuniri is used for accompaniment. It is often played in an ensemble with changi (harp) and salamuri (flute). Both men and women played it. Accompaniment of solo songs, national heroic poems and dance melodies were performed on it in Svaneti. Chuniri and changi are often played together in an ensemble when performing polyphonic songs. More than one Chianuri at a time is not used. Chianuri is kept in a warm place. Often, especially in rainy days it was warmed in the sun or near fireplace before using, in order to emit more harmonious sounds. This fact is acknowledged in all regions where the fiddlestick instruments were spread. That is done generally because dampness and wind have a certain effect on the instrument's resonant body and the leather that covers it. In Svaneti and Racha people even could make a weather forecast according to the sound produced by chianuri. Weak and unclear sounds were the signs of a rainy weather. The instrument's side strings i.e. first and third strings are tuned in fourth, but the middle (second) string is tuned in third with the lowest string and second with the top string. It was a tradition to play Chuniri late in the evening the day before a funeral. For instance, one of the relatives (man) of a dead person would sit down in open air by the bonfire and play a sad melody. 1
The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Chuniri”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. 1
chuniri is bowed spike fiddle of Georgia, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. 2
The source record links this tradition to 3 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. 2