History of Science and Engineering Annotation << Back STORIES OF STUDYING OF ETHNOMUSICAL CULTURE CIRCASSIANS IN THE XIII – MIDDLE OF THE XX CENTURIES A.V. Gucheva In recent years sharply interest to studying and development of national traditions of a national instrumentalism and song art of unwritten tradition of Adyghe (Circassians) increased. The special place in work is allocated for consideration of works of one of the earliest doc-umentary source which news of the European authors – «Adyghe were, Balkarian and Karachain in news of the European authors of the XIII–XIX centuries» where musical instruments of ancestors and specifics of musical culture of Circassians are mentioned. They describe various traditional musical instruments which as they specify were widespread in a life, and also song creativity of Adyghe which attracted not one generation of ethnographers, historians, linguists, specialists in folklore, the geografov puteshestvennik visiting Circassia in the XIII–XIX centuries. In the short reviews and reports on trips they gave detailed descriptions of appearance of many national musical instruments, gave samples of different genres of national songs, tool folk tunes, etc. The source study base of research of tools, tool and vocal tradition gradually started collecting with emergence of idea of special research of traditional musical culture of Adyghe. At the beginning collecting ethnographic materials, oral information on tool culture of Adyghe had the general character, i.e. gathered in passing with song folklore, data on traditional clothes, jewelry, history of villages, oral poetic creativity, etc. This work, began in 1926 with the first opening day of the Kabardino-Balkarian research institute which started carrying out field expeditions on collecting musical folklore of Adyghe in the territory of their compact accommodation. In communication with what musicologists and composers from Moscow were invited. Repeatedly in Kabarda, Circassia and Adygea there were known musicians. They collected and systematized a huge actual material. Statements of bytopisatel of Circassia about the Adyghe folk music, and represent today a great interest. From here becomes clear why researches on material and spiritual culture of Adyghe enters into one of the priority directions of the Adyghe etnomuzykologiya. Key words: Adyghe ethnomusicology; traditional musical and ceremonial culture; musical instruments. Contacts: E-mail: anggucheva@mail.ru Pp. 42-50.