Uganda
Ganda

Wood, Goat Skin, Braided Fiber String
ca. Mid-20th century
Length: 29 inches x Width 22 inches (cross bar)
Chordophone – Lyre – Plucked

This six-string lyre from Uganda called ‘ndongo’ (‘endongo’), is the most commonly used string instrument of the Ganda people.  It is 29 inches long, 22 inches at the wide round sound box (resonator), and about 6 inches deep. Materials used in its construction are wood, animal hide skin (goat), sinew, and textile.  The ndongo is held horizontal, the same as playing a guitar and both hands are used in plucking the strings from both sides.  The sound is magnificent (I used it in the 1970’s teaching summer music classes).  It is tuned to a pentatonic scale using the wooden pegs located on the cross bar, with the 1st and 6th strings an octave apart.

Within East Africa, this instrument has various names, for example it is called tanbur by the Nubians in the northern Sudan, brimbiri by the Nuba of western Sudan, and bangia by the Berta in the southeastern Sudan. In Uganda the ‘endongo’ is used in healing rituals as well as for entertainment. In some regions it is  combined with gourd trumpets for a ritual dance for treating individuals possessed by spirits.   This lyre has a bridge, whereas most do not.