A Year After UNESCO Listing, Rubab’s Legacy Deepens

Date: 05 December 2025 - 22:47

News ID: ۱۴۶۵۳۱

TEHRAN -- On December 4, 2024, the traditional craft and performance of the rubab—one of the oldest plucked instruments of the Iranian cultural sphere—was officially inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a shared heritage of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The inscription marked the 26th intangible element from Iran to receive global recognition and underscored the deep cultural ties connecting communities across Central and Southwest Asia.
The multinational nomination, titled “The Art of Making and Playing the Rubab,” was coordinated by Iran and brought together historical research, documentation, and audiovisual material from all four countries where the instrument continues to be built and performed.
For music scholar and researcher Behrouz Vojdani, who played a key role in preparing the dossier, the joint listing is a testament to the peaceful cultural interactions that have shaped the region.
“From now on,” he notes, “the rubab belongs to the heritage of all humanity, and the responsibility for protecting it extends far beyond the countries that contributed to the file.”
With over a thousand years of history, the rubab remains one of the most respected instruments in Iran’s eastern musical traditions.
Known in classical Persian texts as rawāwa, and today as rubab, rebab, or rabab, the instrument has long held a central place in the musical cultures of Khorasan and Sistan and Baluchistan.
It is a plucked, double-chambered lute carved from mulberry or oak, its sound-body covered with goat or gazelle skin and fitted with six strings—either single or paired—that resonate with a deep, earthy timbre. Modern makers often use nylon fibers for strings, with a metal-wound bass string similar to that of a guitar.
The rubab’s influence stretches across centuries of Persian poetry; both Hafez and Rumi mention it with reverence. Historically, it was even played with a bow, much like the kamancheh, before evolving into the plucked instrument known today.
Within Iran, it is performed in both folk and classical settings, and during the mid-20th century, master composer Hussein Dehlavi integrated newly designed soprano and alto rubabs into the National Orchestra, helping revive the instrument for urban audiences.
Its modern champions include notable musicians such as Bijan Kamkar, whose pioneering efforts were recognized in 2018 when he was listed as a national “living human treasure.”
Yet the instrument’s strongest roots remain among local virtuosos in Iran’s southeastern regions and the extended cultural zone stretching through Afghanistan and Central Asia.
For Vojdani, UNESCO recognition offers more than prestige: it ensures that the craftsmanship, repertoire, and communal traditions surrounding the rubab will be preserved and shared, strengthening cultural bonds across borders and generations.