Khutang Explained

The Khutang (literally translated to "swan", also called Ostyak harp, Kiotang, Sotang,^[1] Shotang^[2])^[3] is a type of harp played by the Khanty and Mansi people of Siberia. The Khutang and the Nares-jux lyre are the only two indigenous string instruments of Northern Siberia. The Khutang is bow-shaped and often surmounted by a carven animal head, which is often a swan. It is generally described as having between nine and thirteen strings.^[4]

The Mansi also referred to the instrument as Taryghsyp Yiv (meaning "wooden crane-neck").^[5]

A similar swan-shaped and two-stringed harp is played by the Narym Selkup people of Siberia, which may have been based on the Ostyak Harp.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Book: Folk harp journal. 18 May 2012. 1 January 1981.
2. Book: Sibyl Marcuse. A survey of musical instruments. registration. 18 May 2012. April 1975. Harper & Row. 978-0-06-012776-3. 403.
3. Book: Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer. The Tenacity of Ethnicity: A Siberian Saga in Global Perspective. registration. 18 May 2012. 1 November 1999. Princeton University Press. 978-0-691-00673-4. 192–.
4. Book: Robert Auty. Arthur Thomas Hatto. Arthur Thomas Hatto. Traditions of Heroic and Epic Poetry: The traditions. 18 May 2012. 31 December 1980. Modern Humanities Research Association. 978-0-900547-72-0. - of instrument unknown elsewhere in Western Siberia ; one was a five-stringed lyre with a body shaped like a fish, and the other a swan-necked harp with nine or thirteen strings.
5. Book: Mare Kõiva. Kai Vassiljeva. Eesti Keele Instituut . Fr. R. Kreutzwaldi nimeline Kirjandusmuuseum. Folk belief today. 18 May 2012. 1995. Estonian Academy of Sciences, Institute of the Estonian Language & Estonian Museum of Literature. 978-9985-851-11-1. 452.
6. Book: Péter Hajdú. Finno-Ugrian languages and peoples. registration. 17 May 2012. 1975. Deutsch. 978-0-233-96552-9. 234.