pluriarc
The pluriarc, also called paata, mapu, luku, kissanga, and bow lute is a stringed musical instrument of West Africa, classified as a type of lute. It has a hollow body and several curved, pliable necks made of reeds. The strings stretch from the necks to the bridge, which stands approximately 1.5 in above the body.
Also recorded as bow lute · paata · kissanga · luku
pluriarc
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
- Pluriarc
- Field
- lute.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
The pluriarc, also called paata, mapu, luku, kissanga, and bow lute is a stringed musical instrument of West Africa, classified as a type of lute. It has a hollow body and several curved, pliable necks made of reeds. The strings stretch from the necks to the bridge, which stands approximately 1.5 in above the body.
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gnd · 1094925543 · wikidata · Q3392660 · wikipedia · Pluriarc
In this article
Overview
Overview
The body may be round, rectangular, or triangular, and is usually made of light wood. The top of the body can either be a separate board, bound or nailed to the lower part, or made from the same piece of wood as the rest. A hole may exist on the underside that can be opened or closed to change the timbre. It is played by plucking the strings, which are usually open but sometimes contain a stop. The strings may be plucked with fingers or a plectrum. The flexible nature of the necks means the instrument cannot be tuned precisely. Pluriarc designs have been characterized into three types by country of origin: those of southwestern Africa, central west Africa, and western Nigeria.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Pluriarc • Names — bow lute, paata, mapu, luku, kissanga • Classification — * String • Chordophone • Lute • Hornbostel Sachs — 321.1 • Hornbostel Sachs Desc — Bow lute • Related — Harp, Lute, Musical bow, Masenqo, Gusle, Igil, Krar
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3392660: pluriarc
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Pluriarc”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1094925543, Pluriarc.
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ekidongo. africamuseum.be
- 2.Gerhard Kubik: Central Africa. An Introduction. In: Ruth M. Stone (Hrsg.): Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Band 1: Africa. Routledge, New York / London 1998, S. 662f, ISBN 978-0-8240-6035-0
- 3.George Montandon: La généalogie des instruments de musique et les cycles de civilisation. A. Kündig, Genf 1919
- 4.Sibyl Marcuse: A Survey of Musical Instruments. David & Charles Publishers, Newton Abbot 1975, S. 182
- 5.Bernhard Ankermann: Die afrikanischen Musikinstrumente. (Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der philosophischen Facultät der Universität Leipzig) Haack, Berlin 1901, S. 17–21 (bei )
- 6.Åke Norberg: A Handbook of Musical and other Sound-Producing Instruments from Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. (Musikmuseets Skrifter 16) Musikmuseet, Stockholm 1989, S. 286f
- 7.Rogério Budasz, 2014, S. 7
- 8.Gerhard Kubik: Pluriarc. In: Grove Music Online, 2001
- 9.Rogério Budasz, 2014, S. 8
- 10.Ulrich Wegner, 1984, S. 85, 87
- 11.Ulrich Wegner, 1984, S. 88f
- 12.Côte d’Ivoire: Baule Vocal Music. Smithsonian Folkways, LP 1972, als CD 2014 wiederveröffentlicht. Hugo Zemp: Text Beiheft, Titel 8 und Abbildung auf dem Albumcover
- 13.Burkina Faso. Musique et chants des minorités. VDE-Gallo, Lausanne 1997 (PEO CD-921), Patrick Kersalé: Begleitheft, S. 17, 19
- 14.Betty Warner Dietz, Michael Babatunde Olatunji: Musical Instruments of Africa. Their Nature, Use, and Place in the Life of a Deeply Musical People. The John Day Company, New York 1965, S. 73
- 15.Ulrich Wegner, 1984, S. 76, 80
- 16.Bolima. In: New Grove, Band 1, S. 246, 248, 718
- 17.Ulrich Wegner, 1984, S. 91f
- 18.Alan P. Merriam: The Anthropology of Music. Northwestern University Press, Evanston 1964, S. 291 (4. Aufl. 2000, ISBN 0-8101-0607-8)
- 19.Ulrich Wegner, 1984, S. 90
- 20.Ngwomi. In: New Grove, Band 2, S. 766
- 21.Peter Fryer: Rhythms of Resistance: African Musical Heritage in Brazil. Pluto Press, London 2000, S. 84, ISBN 978-0-7453-0731-2
- 22.Walter Hirschberg: Early Historical Illustrations of West and Central African Music. In: African Music, Band 4, Nr. 3, 196, S. 6–18, Abb. S. 17
- 23.Alisa LaGamma: Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2007, S. 53
- 24.Rogério Budasz, 2014, S. 17
- 25.Nsambi. In: New Grove, Band 2, S. 783
- 26.Tsambi. In: New Grove, Band 3, S. 658
- 27.Bertil Söderberg: Musical Instruments Used by the Babembe. In: The African Music Society Newsletter, Band 1, Nr. 6, September 1953, S. 46–56, hier S. 52f
- 28.Gerhard Kubik: Musical Bows in South-Western Angola, 1965. In: African Music, Band 5, Nr. 4, 1975/1976, S. 98–104, hier S. 103
- 29.John Brearley: A musical tour of Botswana, 1982. In: Botswana Notes and Records, Band 16, 1984, S. 45–57, hier S. 56
- 30.Soso Kondingi playing. Sierra Leone Heritage (Abbildung und Hörprobe)
- 31.Kondingi. In: Stanley Sadie (Hrsg.): The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Band 2. Macmillan Press, London 1984, S. 456
- 32.Ko voro. In: Stanley Sadie (Hrsg.): The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Band 2. Macmillan Press, London 1984, S. 473
- 33.J. N. Lo-Bamijoko: Classification of Igbo Musical Instruments, Nigeria. In: African Music, Band 6, Nr. 4, 1987, S. 19–41, Abb. S. 39
- 34.Roger Blench: A guide to the musical instruments of Cameroon: classification, distribution, history, and vernacular names. (PDF; 4,1 MB) Cambridge, 31. Juli 2009, S. 26
- 35.Banga. In: New Grove, Band 1, S. 149
- 36.Ulrich Wegner, 1984, S. 86–88
- 37.Philip J. C. Dark, Matthew Hill: Musical Instruments on Benin Plaques. In: Klaus P. Wachsmann (Hrsg.): Essays on Music and History in Africa. Northwestern University Press, Evanstone 1971, S. 77
- 38.Kenneth Bilby: Music from Aluku: Maroon Sounds of Struggle, Solace, and Survival. (PDF; 7,9 MB) Booklet der CD 50412 von Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2010
- 39.Vgl. Lawrence F. Hill: The Abolition of the African Slave Trade to Brazil. (PDF) In: The Hispanic American Historical Review, Band 11, Nr. 2, Mai 1931, S. 169–197
- 40.Rogério Budasz, 2014, S. 11
- 41.Rogério Budasz, 2014, S. 14–16
- 42.Rogério Budasz, 2014, S. 22
- 43.József Brauer-Benke, 2013, S. 151f
- 44.Ulrich Wegner, 1984, S. 91
- 45.József Brauer-Benke, 2013, S. 155
- 46.Rogério Budasz, 2015, S. 11
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1094925543, Pluriarc.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
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.
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