The terms
Tanbur,
Tanbur,
Tanbura,
Tambur,
Tambura or
Tanboor can refer to various long-necked,
string instrument originating in
Mesopotamia,
Southern or
Central Asia. According to the
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "terminology presents a complicated situation. Nowadays the term tanbur (or
tambur) is applied to a variety of distinct and related long-necked string instruments used in art and folk traditions in
India,
Iraqi Kurdistan,
Iran,
Afghanistan,
Pakistan,
Turkey,
Tajikestan,
Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan. Similar or identical instruments are also known by other terms."