Ndongo

Description

The endongo is a bowl lyre that has a typical sound table of monitor lizard skin stretched over the wooden bowl, and secured with vegetable fiber strings lacing to a lozenge patch of haired cow or goat skin on the back. The arms and crossbar are made of wooden dowels that pierce the soundtable but not the bowl body at the end. This example has six vegetable fiber strings tied to the crossbar, along with rattan lacing, that pierce the soundtable and body at the very bottom, and are again tied to a small wooden dowel. The bridge is missing and one of the strings is loose.