Vietnam

Vietnamese

Wood, nylon, mother-of-pearl, shell
Mid 20th century
Length: 33.75 in, Width: 5.75 in, Depth: 3 in
Chordophones – Lutes 

This three-stringed banjo-lute is used by several ethnic groups in Vietnam. The Viet call it dan tam, whereas the HaNhi call it ta in.  It is quite like the Chinese sanxian, and a relative of the Japanese shamisen, and the Mongolian shanz.

This dan tam is oval-shaped, with animal skin on both sides glued to the rounded edge of the wooden resonator shell/rim. The fretless neck and rim of the resonator are both inlaid with mother-of-pearl in a floral design, and the head of the instrument is stylized with carved resin and inlaid shell. There are three round wooden pegs, two on the right, one on the left of the open pegbox, three nylon strings and a bridge at the top of the neck and one attached at the bottom on the skinhead sound board.  The dan tam is played with a plastic plectrum and due to the fretless neck can play both full tones and microtones.  In addition to accompanying folk music, the dan tam is often part of an orchestra accompanying Cheo drama.

Resource:  ATLAS of Plucked Instruments – Far East