West African Griot Lutes
Tanged lutes are common in West Africa, as are a closely related class of instrument called spike lutes. These are instruments in which the handle does extends all the way through the resonator. A hereditary class of West African musicians, griots, play tanged lutes, and no other form of stringed instrument; non-griot performers in West Africa play a mixture of both spike lutes and tanged lutes. The term griot lute thus typically refers to these tanged lutes of West Africa.
The resonator of West African lutes may be made of wood, metal (such as a discarded can) or a half-calabash gourd. Griot lutes are exclusively wood, while non-griot lutes occur in all three categories. Typically, calabash lutes have no more than two strings, while the wooden instruments generally have more.
Griot lutes tend to be wooden troughs, either boat- (naviform) or figure-8-shaped. Lutes used by griots have a V- or fan-shaped bridge, a feature unique to West African lutes, while non-griot lutes use cylindrical bridges; a few use two-footed bridges in the shape of an upside-down "u", while the Hausa wase places the bridge under the head, creating a ridged lump upon which the strings rest. Non-griot lutes are not restricted by heredity, and are used for many social purposes, most commonly hunting. It likely that one or more of these instruments is the ancestor of the African American banjo.
Read more about this topic: List Of Musical Instruments By Hornbostel-Sachs Number: 321.33
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