File:Nyanyeru or Riti.jpg

English: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/502106

Midp89.4.1531

From museum page for the artifact: Title: Nyanyeru (riti)

Date: late 19th century

Geography: Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau or the Senegambia

Culture: Fulbe

Medium: Gourd, various materials

Dimensions: Height: 142 in. (360.7 cm) Diameter: 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)

Classification: Chordophone-Lute-bowed-unfretted

Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889

Accession Number: 89.4.1531

"This particular nyanyeru is composed of a section of a small gourd pierced by a straight neck, on top of which is a metal ferrule. There is a square soundhole carved into the resonator as opposed to the soundboard, which is a morphological element distinct to the Fulbe fiddle in comparison to other sub-Saharan African fiddles, such as those in the Central Sudan and Voltaic areas. The gourd of the nyanyeru is covered with a lizard skin that is secured with small wooden pegs. Several strands of horse-hair, forming a single string, are attached high on the neck with what appears to be a ring made of hide. At the base, the horse-hair is attached to a loop that is slipped over the neck where it projects through the gourd. Two pieces of wood placed on top of the hide membrane support the horse-hair string. The instrument’s accompanying bow is a simple, round stick to which horse hair has been attached using white cord on either end."