Yazh


The yazh is a harp used in ancient Tamil music. A closely related word yali refers to any structure, particularly front, that resembles the way the tip of stem of this instrument was carved into. The yazh was an open-stringed polyphonous instrument, with gut strings with a wooden boat-shaped skin-covered resonator and an ebony stem.

Historical descriptions

The Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar mentions yazh in his work Thirukkural. Many major Tamil classical literary masterpieces written during Sangam period have mentioned the yazh. Silappatikaram, written by a Tamil Chera prince Ilango Adigal, mentions four kinds of yazhs:
Yazh was played in Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple in early centuries it was mentioned in ShaivaThirumurai 11th Pathigam. It was played by the Musician and poet Panapathirar
பதிமிசை நிலவு பால்நிற வரிச்சிற
கன்னம் பயில்பொழில் ஆல வாயில்
மன்னிய சிவன்யான் மொழிதரு மாற்றம்
பருவக் கொண்மூப் படியெனப் பாவலர்க்
குரிமையின் உரிமையின் உதவி ஒளிதிகழ்
குருமா மதிபுரை குலவிய குடைக்கீழ்ச்
செருமா உகைக்குஞ் சேரலன் காண்க
பண்பா லியாழ்பயில் பாண பத்திரன்
தன்போல் என்பால் அன்பன் தன்பால்
காண்பது கருதிப் போந்தனன்
மாண்பொருள் கொடுத்து வரவிடுப் பதுவேOther types of yazh are:
The Tamil book Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai says the strings of a yazh should not have any twists in them, and the Silappatikaram lists four types of defects in yazh.
Other Tamil literature which have mentions on yazh are Seevaga Sindhamani and Periya Puranam. Yazh are seen in sculptures in the Darasuram and Thirumayam temples in Tamil Nadu and also in Amaravathi village, Guntur district. Swami Vipulananda has written a book of scientific research in Tamil called the Yazh Nool.
The city of Jaffna is known in Tamil as Yazhpanam. A Sri Lankan Tamil legend recounts that a blind man Panan played on the Yazh so beautiful that he was given land from a king, which he named after himself, literally meaning "town of harper".