An instrument which is especially common in this form amongst the populations of Mali and Senegal. It has an ovoid shaped wooden soundbox, over which is stretched a hide membrane fixed by a series of large headed gilded screws. A short wooden neck crosses the membrane, for almost the whole length, through two special holes, ending in a shaped bridge. Four nylon strings, of different thicknesses and lengths, are fixed to the neck by thin ring-shaped strips of leather. Moving the leather rings, to which the strings are fixed, upwards, the strings become taut and consequently the variation in the sharpness of the sound is obtained. The lute is plucked with the fingers of one hand, while the other hand runs along the thickest string.
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