lama

[lah-muh]

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Licensed from Columbia University Press

In Tibetan Buddhism, a spiritual leader. Some lamas are considered to be reincarnations of their predecessors; others have won respect for their high level of spiritual development. The most honored of the reincarnate lamas is the Dalai Lama; second in spiritual authority is the Panchen Lama. The process of discovering the new incarnation of a lama, especially the Dalai Lama, is elaborate and exacting. Oracular messages, unusual signs during the lama's death or during a birth thereafter, and examinations of candidates identify a successor. The child thus identified as the lama's incarnation is given extensive monastic training from an early age.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Panchen Lama

Any of the line of reincarnated lamas who head the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Tibet, traditionally second only to the Dalai Lama in spiritual authority in the dominant sect of Tibetan Buddhism. A Panchen Lama installed by the Chinese Nationalist government in 1949 later became an official under the Chinese communists. He remained in Tibet after the 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile in 1959 but was imprisoned in 1964 after criticizing the government. He was released in the late 1970s and died in 1989. The Dalai Lama and government subsequently chose different successors.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Dalai Lama

Head of the dominant Dge-lugs-pa order of Tibetan Buddhism. The first of the line was Dge-'dun-grub-pa (1391–1475), founder of a monastery in central Tibet. His successors were regarded as his reincarnations and, like himself, manifestations of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The second head of the order established the 'Brasspungs monastery near Lhasa as its base, and the third received the h1 Dalai (“Ocean”) from Altan Khan. The fifth, Ngag-dbang-rgya-mtsho (1617–82), established the supremacy of the Dge-lugs-pa over other orders. The 13th Dalai Lama, Thub-bstan-rgya-mtsho (1875–1933), held temporal and spiritual power after the Chinese were expelled in 1912. The 14th and current Dalai Lama, Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho (b. 1935), was enthroned in 1940 but fled to India in 1959 with a large contingent of followers after a failed revolt against the central government, which had gained control of Tibet in 1950–51. He now lives in exile in Dharmsala, India. He was awarded the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his proposals for solving world problems.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Bağlama

The bağlama is a stringed musical instrument shared by various cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and Central Asia. In Turkish, bağlamak means "to tie," a reference to the tied-on frets of the instrument. Like most stringed instruments, it can either be played with a plectrum (i.e., pick) or with a fingerpicking style known as şelpe.

Turkish bağlama

The bağlama, sometimes referred to as a saz or a member of the saz family, is a Turkish instrument that is fundamental in Turkish folk music. Its name literally translates to "something that is tied up." It is a stringed instrument consisting of 7 strings divided into groups of 2, 2, and 3. These groups of strings can be tuned to different combinations, each corresponding to a different system.

The bağlama is believed to be a synthesis of historical musical instruments in Central Asia and pre-Turkish Anatolia. It is the most commonly used string folk instrument in Turkey, and it takes different names according to the region it's found in and its size: Bağlama, Divan Sazı, Bozuk, Çöğür, Kopuz Irızva, Cura, Tambura, etc.

The cura is the smallest member of the bağlama family, with the highest-pitched sound. One size larger than the cura is the tambura, which is tuned an octave lower than the cura. The Divan sazı is the largest instrument in the family and is tuned one octave lower than the tambura. The bağlama has three main parts, called tekne (the bowl); göğüs (sounding board); and sap (neck). The tekne is generally made from mulberry wood but may also be made of juniper, beech, spruce, or walnut. The göğüs is made from spruce, and the sap section from beech or juniper. The tuning pegs are known as burgu (literally screw). Frets are tied to the tekne with fishing line, which allows them to be adjusted. The bağlama is usually played with a tezene (similar to a guitar pick) and is made from cherrywood bark or plastic. In some regions, it is played with the fingers in a style known as Şelpe or Şerpe. There are three string groups, or courses, on the bağlama, with strings double or tripled. These string groups can be tuned in a variety of ways, known as düzen. For the bağlama düzeni, the most common tuning, the courses are tuned from top downward, A-G-D. Some other düzens are Kara Düzen (C-G-D), Misket Düzeni (A-D-F), Müstezat (A-D-F), Abdal Düzeni, and Rast Düzeni. There are also electronic bağlamas, which can be connected to an amplifier. These can have either single or double pickups.

The kopuz and the bağlama

The kopuz, or komuz, differs from the bağlama in that it has a leather-covered body, a fingerboard without frets, and two or three strings made of sheep gut, wolf gut, or horsehair. It is played by beating with the fingers, rather than by plucking with a plectrum.

The Turkish settlement of Anatolia from the late tenth century onward saw the introduction of a two-string Turkmen dutar, which was played in some areas of Turkey until recent times. According to the historian Hammer, metal strings were first used on a type of kopuz with a long fingerboard known as the kolca kopuz in 15th-century Anatolia. This marked the first step in the emergence of the çöğür (cogur), a transitional instrument between the kopuz and the bağlama. According to 17th-century writer Evliya Çelebi, the cogur was first made in the city of Kütahya in western Turkey. To take the strain of the metal strings, the leather body was replaced with wood, the fingerboard was lengthened, and frets were introduced. Instead of five hair strings, there were now twelve metal strings, arranged in four groups of three. Today, the cogur is smaller than a medium-size bağlama.

Meanwhile, the five-string kopuz is thought to have been transformed into the six-string instrument known as the sestar or seshane by 13th-century mystic Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi. The word "sestar" is also mentioned in the poems of the 14th-century poet Yunus Emre. Evliya Çelebi describes the kopuz as a smaller version of the seshane.

The word bağlama is first used in 18th-century texts. French traveler Jean Benjamin de Laborde, who visited Turkey during that century, recorded that "the bağlama or tambura is in form exactly like the cogur, but smaller." He was probably referring to the smallest of the bağlama family, the cura.

Bağlama (Saz) family

Name	Freq. (lower)	SB Length	Bowl Radius	Neck Length	Wire Length	Description
cura	586Hz D	22.5	13.5	30	48	The smallest one (for a demonstration, click ).
üçtelli sazı						It has three wires (one wire per course).
çöğür saz
tambura	293Hz D	38	22.8	52	80
bağlama	220Hz A	44.5	24.9	55	88	The most common one.
bozuk saz	G					See bouzouki.
meydan sazı	110Hz A	52.5	31.5	70	112
aşik sazı
divan sazı	146Hz D	49	29.4	65	104
baş sazı