ቁሳቁስ ማሲንቆ
አማርኛ

Ethiopian instruments

ማሲንቆMasinqo

How is a masinqo made? From wood and hide to a single string.

A step-by-step look at how the masinqo, with its single string, is made by hand from wood, hide and horsehair, and how it is played.

See the stepsWhat is a masinqo?

What is a masinqo?ማሲንቆ ምንድን ነው?

The masinqo is a traditional Ethiopian fiddle with a single string, played with a bow.

Its body is a diamond-shaped frame of four boards, covered front and back with rawhide. A long round neck runs through it, and a single string of horsehair runs from the bottom, over a bridge, up to the tuning peg. The player stands the instrument upright on the lap and draws a bow strung with horsehair across the string.

The masinqo belongs to the azmari, the singer-poets who play at weddings, holidays and in azmari houses, often making up verses about the people in the room. It has only one string, but the player's fingers stop it at many places to make a whole scale.

The parts of a masinqo

ክፍሎች

It looks simple, but every part works on the sound of its one string.

A masinqo standing upright on its spike in a wooden base on a woven mat, its bow lying in front. Its body is a diamond-shaped wooden frame 32 cm corner to corner, covered front and back with rawhide laced together round the sides. A round neck runs through it, with a large tuning peg and a turned finial at the top. One horsehair string runs from a small tail block on the skin, over the bridge and up to the collar on the neck. The string, the bridge, the front skin, the peg and the neck come away. Point at the figure, or at a part in the list, to see that part. The arrow keys step through the parts, Space takes it apart or puts it together, and Escape puts it back.

  1. The diamond-shaped wooden frame. It is the sound box.

  2. Rawhide stretched over the frame. It takes up the string's vibration and makes it loud.

  3. The round stick that runs through the body. The fingers press the string along it.

  4. A large wooden peg that tightens or slackens the one string.

  5. A small piece of wood that holds the string off the skin and passes its vibration into it.

  6. A hank of many horsehairs. It gives the masinqo its rich, slightly rough voice.

  7. A curved stick strung with horsehair, drawn back and forth across the string.

How a masinqo is made, step by step

አሠራር

From seasoned wood and rawhide to a tuned string, every part is made by hand.

  1. ፩Step 1

    Prepare the wood

    እንጨቱን ማዘጋጀት

    Hard, well-seasoned wood is chosen and cut into thin boards for the frame and a round stick for the neck.

  2. ፪Step 2

    Build the frame

    ፍሬሙን መገጣጠም

    The four boards are joined at their corners into a diamond, and the top and bottom corners are bored through for the neck.

  3. ፫Step 3

    Carve the neck and peg

    አንገቱንና መቃኛውን መቅረጽ

    The neck is smoothed, a finial is carved at its top, and a hole is bored for the large tuning peg.

  4. ፬Step 4

    Stretch the hide

    ቆዳውን መወጠር

    Soaked rawhide is stretched over the front and back of the frame and laced together round the sides. As it dries it shrinks tight, like a drumhead.

  5. ፭Step 5

    Fit the neck

    አንገቱን ማስገባት

    The neck is pushed through the corners of the frame. Its lower end becomes the spike the instrument stands on.

  6. ፮Step 6

    Bridge and string

    ድልድይና ክር

    A small wooden bridge is set on the skin, and a hank of horsehair is tied at the bottom, run over the bridge and wound onto the peg.

  7. ፯Step 7

    Bow and tune

    ቀስቱንና ቅኝቱን

    A bent stick is strung with horsehair, which is rubbed with resin. The peg is turned to tune the string to the singer's voice.

The masinqo in song

ማሲንቆና ዘፈን

  • The azmari

    አዝማሪ

    The azmari is singer, poet and player at once, and accompanies every song on the masinqo.

  • Wax and gold

    ሰምና ወርቅ

    Azmaris sing verses with two meanings: the surface, called the wax, and the hidden meaning, the gold.

  • Weddings and feasts

    ሠርግና በዓል

    At weddings and feasts, singing and dancing to the masinqo go on long into the night.

Next object

Wood

Krar · ክራር

The lyre with a hide-covered bowl and six strings.

How it's made →