For the first time in Azerbaijan, national standards for the kamancha have been officially approved.
This information was provided to the Operative Information Center-OMM by the Ministry of Culture.
The approval marks a significant milestone in the ministry's initiative to standardize national musical instruments. The AZSTAND-44 Technical Committee has finalized and officially approved national standards covering four sizes of the kamancha family.
These newly approved standards establish uniform technical norms for the instrument's dimensions, construction features, and production parameters for the first time in Azerbaijan. As the country's inaugural systematic standardization project for national musical instruments, this initiative is considered a major achievement in preserving, scientifically developing, and passing on intangible cultural heritage to future generations.
The AZSTAND-44 Technical Committee was established in 2023 through a joint initiative by the Ministry of Culture and the Azerbaijan Standardization Institute to develop unified standards for national musical instruments. A two-year action plan regulating the committee's activities was approved in 2024, and the process of developing national standards is proceeding systematically in accordance with this plan.
Draft standards for the four sizes of the kamancha family were presented to committee members earlier this year. Following the collection and synthesis of expert opinions, it was decided to conduct an expert evaluation of the prototype instruments. On May 26 and June 25, expert meetings held at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory confirmed that the prototype kamanchas fully complied with the proposed technical parameters.
On June 29, the AZSTAND-44 Technical Committee held a meeting where the draft national standards for the kamancha family were officially adopted through a vote. This establishes the first legal and regulatory framework for the standardization of national musical instruments in Azerbaijan.
The draft standards were prepared by specialists from the Musical Instruments Laboratory at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory. The research process involved measuring over 150 kamancha samples to determine structural indicators and proportions, with unified standard parameters established based on statistical analysis. This methodology ensures both the scientific validity and practical applicability of the developed standards.
It should be noted that the kamancha is one of the oldest and most valuable symbols of Azerbaijani musical culture. The instrument is included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Within the framework of the AZSTAND-44 Technical Committee's activities, plans are underway to develop standards for other national folk instruments in the future.
