Garaya (lute)
Thegarayaorkomois an oval-bodied, two-string spike lute fromNigerand NorthernNigeria.[2]
Details
[edit]Two different versions of thegarayaexist in Nigeria.[1]The Fulani people and Hausa people both have their own version.[1]
Hausagaraya
[edit]A garaya is around 50 centimeters long, plucked with a plectrum made from stiffened cowhide or hippopotamus hide.[2][3]It is used by theHausa peopleto play traditional music.[2]The instrument has a wooden soundbox in the shape of an oval, covered with goatskin orduiker-skin and a neck that goes through both sides of the bowl. From the butt, the strings run across the bowl, and the loose ends are tied to tuning strings (which are wrapped around the neck as anchor points). The lute may have a metaljingleattached to the handle.[2]
A larger version of the instrument is called thebabbar garayaorkomo.[3]Babbarmeans large.[3]The instrument has a gourd body or soundbox and is about 75 centimeters long.[3]
Thekomo(also 2 strings) is equivalent to thegaraya.[3]It has a soundbox made from a gourd (instead of wood) and is about 75 centimeters long.[3]
The instruments have traditionally been played to make "praise" songs for hunters, accompanied by gourd rattles.[2][3]The instruments are used for entertainment, accompanying song and dance.[3]They have also been used in a religious context, part of the "borispirit possession cult. "[2][3]
See also
[edit]- Krar,a five or six-stranded bowl-shaped lyre used in Ethiopia and Eritrea
References
[edit]- ^abcPestcoe, Shlomo; Adams, Greg C. "3 List of West African Plucked Spike Lutes". In Robert B. Winnans (ed.).Banjo Roots and Branches.pp. 47–48.
Semi-Spike Lutes...garaya[pluralgarayu] (Hausa: Nigeria) (two strings)...garaya[garayaaru,garayaaji] (Fulani [Fulbe]:Cameroon) (two strings; gourd body)
- ^abcdefGourlay, K. A. (1984). "Garaya". In Sadie Stanley (ed.).The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments.Vol. 2. London: MacMillan Press. p. 25.
- ^abcdefghiGourlay, K. A. (1984). "Komo". In Sadie Stanley (ed.).The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments.Vol. 2. London: MacMillan Press. p. 454.