Xinjiang Province of Western China
Uyghurs

Various woods, metal strings, horse hair, mother-of-pearl
ca. 1970’s
Length: 24 inches
Chordophones – Lutes

This ghijek is a short neck spike fiddle used by the Uyghurs who are recognized as native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China.  Other spike fiddles called ghijek are also found and used by Afghans, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turkmens, and Qaraqalpaks.  The ghijek is also closely related to the Persian kamancheh, which can be found in this collection under ‘Middle East’ – Iran. 

This ghijek, made from the wood of an apricot tree, has four steel strings and an ornately carved and decorated bowl soundbox with many holes that make the sound more resonant.  The two halves that make up the soundbox have a python snakeskin stretched inside as a sound table.  At the bottom is an extended knee rest for playing upright, rather than horizontally like a western fiddle.  The spike rest is placed on the leg and the neck is held by the left hand, while the bow is held by the right hand.

The ghijek is the most popular bowed instrument in Uyghur orchestra. It is also played alone in solo recitals.