Kuban bandurists
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Kuban bandurist is a person who plays the Ukrainian plucked string instrument known as the bandura, who is from Kuban, a geographic region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River.
The tradition of the kobzar in Kuban migrated from central Ukraine. According to the historian and archivist Ivan Kyiashko the Kuban Cossacks played on the kobza, violin, jaw harp, hurdy-gurdy, basses, tsymbaly, and sopilka.
The Cossacks were especially respectful to itinerant blind singers who played the bandura or kobza. To them, the blind kobzar was a living reminder of their past. In previous eras they themselves were veterans of past battles and campaigns. Their repertoire retold the stories of past battles in the many epic ballads known as dumy (sung epic poems).