in the highlands Peru in South America, the history of using Ney plant to make wind instruments dated back to ten thousand years ago.
In the miniatures, Iranian painters have depicted Ney and Def in Sama meetings a thousand years ago. Ney is an important instrument in the music of the Turkish dervishes, and the sound of Ney is always heard at the commemoration ceremony. Ney is made from natural bamboo in China widely.
The closeness of the influence of Ney sound to the human voice and the sound qualities of the instrument have provided different interpretations for this instrument; and even, it has introduced as a symbol of the human spirit. five thousand years ago, Ney was buried with the body of its musician in Egypt. They Believed that the soul of the musician remained in his instrument; or, the seven straps in some kind of this instrument are similar to beliefs of Babylonians. Seven was one of the sacred numbers of the Babylonians. Astronomy science was important for Babylonians. Their sciences were intertwined with religious beliefs, and they thought that Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon were the manifestations of the gods. In seven days within a week, they pray a different god each day.
In Persian literature, Ney and Nye musician has been considered by most Iranian poets, especially Rumi. In their poems, they have a special place, so that Rumi's spiritual Masnavi begins with this verse;
“Listen to the Ney how it tells a tale,
complaining about separations”
In other words;
“Listen to the Ney how it complains,
Telling a tale of separations”
For explaining this verse, various interpretations of Ney have been expressed. Mullah Hadi Sabzevari considered Ney as the holy spirit of a person who has been blown into a human being and it shows a perfect human being, while other commentators stated different interpretations about Ney. For example, they have said that Ney in Persian also meant destruction (the empty space inside Ney), and the perfect human being is empty of himself. Some have considered Rumi's intention about Ney as a pleasant wind instrument.
