Kontigi

Kontigi
	Kontigi with metal body made from an oval can
String instrument
Other names	Kuntigi
Musicians
	Dan Maraya, Griots
Builders
	the Hausa, Songhai and Djerma.

A kontigi or kuntigi is a one-stringed African lute played by the Hausa, Songhai, and Djerma. A 3-string version teharden is used among the Tamashek.

The instrument is used in Hausa music, primarily in northern Nigeria and Niger, and among Hausa minorities in Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso , and Cameroon. It is also found among Islamized peoples throughout West Africa (see Xalam). The best-known player of the Kontigi is Dan Maraya.

Characteristics

The instrument uses a calabash gourd as its body, covered with skin, with a stick for a neck. Modern instruments have had the gourd replaced by a can, such as a large sardine can. The neck on the Kontigi has "a metal disk surrounded by small rings," which makes noise as the instrument is moved or played. The tone is high-pitched.

Performance

The instrument is used to perform "praise songs" by professional musicians or by Griots in Nigeria. A well-known musician who used the instrument was Dan Maraya, who recorded albums. The instrument is used in Niger by children and men who perform solo.

Sample recordings

Kidan Kashewa by Dan Maraya Jos
Wakar Keren Mota III by Dan Maraya Jos

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gourlay, K. A. (1984). "Kuntigi". In Sadie Stanley (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Vol. 2. London: MacMillan Press. p. 487.
1 2 3 4 5 Francis Bebey (1975). African Music A People's Art. Translated by Josephine Bennett. Brooklyn, New York: Lawrence Hill Books. p. 46. ISBN 1-55652-128-6.
1 2 3 Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi, Jos; Adamu Abu, Abuja (21 June 2015). "Dan Maraya Jos dies at 69". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. As a Nigerian Hausa Griot, he was popular for playing the Kontigi, a small, single-stringed lute, whose body is usually a large, oval-shaped sardine can covered with goatskin.
1 2 "Dan Maraya Jos "Kidan Kashewa" and "Wakar Keren Mota III"". YouTube. 30 January 2016.

External links

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[Grove-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gourlay, K. A. (1984). "Kuntigi". In Sadie Stanley (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Vol. 2. London: MacMillan Press. p. 487.

[Bebey-2] 1 2 3 4 5 Francis Bebey (1975). African Music A People's Art. Translated by Josephine Bennett. Brooklyn, New York: Lawrence Hill Books. p. 46. ISBN 1-55652-128-6.

[obit-3] 1 2 3 Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi, Jos; Adamu Abu, Abuja (21 June 2015). "Dan Maraya Jos dies at 69". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. As a Nigerian Hausa Griot, he was popular for playing the Kontigi, a small, single-stringed lute, whose body is usually a large, oval-shaped sardine can covered with goatskin.

[record1-4] 1 2 "Dan Maraya Jos "Kidan Kashewa" and "Wakar Keren Mota III"". YouTube. 30 January 2016.