Panduri (Georgian Three-String Lute)
The panduri is the three-string fretted lute of eastern Georgia, a shallow wooden instrument carved from a single block of mulberry, walnut or other fruitwood, with a short neck, three strings and a soft, bright voice. It belongs to Kartli and Kakheti, where it accompanies men's table songs and the solo and choral polyphony of the region, the player strumming or plucking the strings to support the voice. Custom held that the panduri should hang on the wall of the house when not in use, ready for songs, and it was treated as a companion of family and village life rather than a mere concert inst