kissar
The kissar (also spelled kissir), tanbour or gytarah barbaryeh is the traditional Nubian lyre, still in use in Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. It consists of a body having instead of the traditional tortoise-shell back, a shallow, round bowl of wood, covered with a soundboard of sheepskin, in which are two small round sound-holes. The arms, set through the soundboard at points distant about the third of the diameter from the circumference, have the familiar fan shape.
Also recorded as kisszár · gytarah barbaryeh · kisir · kissir
kissar

Collectie Wereldmuseum (v/h Tropenmuseum), part of the National Museum of World Cultures · Collectie Stichting Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Kissar
- Field
- plucked string instrument · bowl lyre
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
The kissar (also spelled kissir), tanbour or gytarah barbaryeh is the traditional Nubian lyre, still in use in Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. It consists of a body having instead of the traditional tortoise-shell back, a shallow, round bowl of wood, covered with a soundboard of sheepskin, in which are two small round sound-holes. The arms, set through the soundboard at points distant about the third of the diameter from the circumference, have the familiar fan shape.
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Broader Term · outgoing
bowl lyre
Term
Collectie Stichting Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

Broader Term · outgoing
plucked string instrument
Term
Carolingian manuscripts, Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, Germany ( http://www.thecipher.com/cythara_9th-cent_Stuttgart-Psalter_c830_deta.jpg ) Original image, Stuttgarter Psalter - Cod.bi
Documentary evidence
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- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
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Authority files
wikidata · Q934675 · wikipedia · Kissar
In this article
Overview
Overview
Five gut strings, knotted round the bar and raised from the soundboard by means of a bridge tailpiece similar to that in use on the modern guitar, are plucked by means of a plectrum by the right hand for the melody, while the left hand sometimes twangs some of the strings as a soft drone accompaniment. • Illustration — Egypt, 1859. The Kissar Player, painting by Frederick Goodall • Illustration — Man playing kissar in Egypt The kissar has been a popular instrument in northern Sudan in Nubian and Shaigiya music, but also among the Nuba and Beja people.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kissar • Background — string • Hornbostel Sachs — 123.5 • Hornbostel Sachs Desc — Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum • Developed — Sumer, Egypt, (Bronze Age) • Related — * lyre • Cithara • harp • gue
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Kissar”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q934675: kissar
Unverified · Wikidata
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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