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The RIQQ (foreground) is a framed tambourine, with a membrane about ten centimetres in diameter. The frame, often finely decorated, has five double openings called windows, where there are ten metal discs placed symmetrically two at a time. The RIQQ is held in the left hand and is beaten, in the centre of the skin, with the right hand. The membrane of a good RIQQ (like the one on display) is made of fish skin (in this case of a grouper). The frame of the instrument is covered with small and multicoloured mosaic pieces which can be made of mother-of-pearl, bone, horn or more frequently of coloured wood. The RIQQ player belongs to the traditional group of classical music known by the name of TAKHT and has an important accompanying rhythmic function.
In the case of the DAFF (background), this is a tambourine with discs, very similar to the RIQQ, about thirty centimetres in diameter. The frame of the instrument has five pairs of plates, placed symmetrically. The DAFF is an instrument that has been used since ancient times for women's dances. It was already known in the Egypt of the Pharaohs for entertainment and to accompany dancing. The tambourine was also used exclusively by women in the pre-Islamic period. The instrument is played with the right hand and held in the left. The metal discs provide a sort of tremolo when the tambourine is shaken or beaten against the body.
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