Mali
Malian

Wood, gut string, hide, horsehair, calabash
ca. Mid 20th century
Length: 22.6 in; Diameter: 7.9 in; Depth: 4.25 in
Chordophone – Lute – Spiked

The njarka is a small spike fiddle native to Mali that is played with a small arched bowed.  It consists of a resonator half gourd covered by a goat skin and one gut string attached at the top of the neck and to the bottom that spikes through the resonator with a moveable bridge on the skin to elevate the string. This njarka has a leather wrapped neck, along with leather fringe at the top of the neck and lighter stitching down the side providing decoration. Characteristic of the njarka is the large hole cut into the left side of the hide which covers the top open side of the resonator gourd.  The carving on the back side of the gourd is in a geometric design using a symmetrical pattern of diamonds, circles, and triangles.

Note: Alternative name: Goje (the Hausa name for the instrument) is one of the many names for a variety of one or two-stringed fiddles from West Africa, almost exclusively played by ethnic groups inhabiting the Sahel and Sudan sparsely vegetated grassland belts leading to the Sahara. Resource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goje