Kenya
Luo – East African

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

This ‘nyatiti’ is an eight-string lyre from Kenya, that resembles an Egyptian lyre.  It is played by musicians of the Luo tribe, an ethnic group in western Kenya, in Eastern Uganda and Northern Tanzania that migrated from Nile River Valley to Lake Victoria.  The Luo people are related to the Acholi people of Uganda.  

The Luo nyatiti player is called to play at weddings, funerals, and often dances called ‘Goyo Otenga.”  Otenga is the Luo word for eagle, so dancers move their entire body to imitate an eagle.  Also, the nyatiti is often used in ‘Benga music,’ a genre of Kenyan popular music.  It is usually played sitting down on a three-legged stool known as the ‘Orindin,’  and is traditionally only played by men.