# Krar

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{{Short description|String musical instrument from Ethiopia and Eritrea}}
{{italic title}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name                  =Krar
| names                 =
| image                 =Krar Linden-Museum F55878.jpg
| image_capt            =A wooden ''krar''.
| background            =string
| classification        =lyre
| hornbostel_sachs      =
| hornbostel_sachs_desc =
| inventors             =
| developed             =Ethiopia and Eritrea
| range                 =
| related               =''[masenqo](/source/masenqo)''
| musicians             =
| builders              =
| articles              =
}}

The '''''krar''''' ([Geʽez](/source/Ge%CA%BDez): ክራር) is a five-or-six stringed bowl-shaped [lyre](/source/lyre) from [Ethiopia](/source/Ethiopia) and [Eritrea](/source/Eritrea). It is tuned to a [pentatonic scale](/source/pentatonic_scale). A modern ''krar'' may be [amplified](/source/Instrument_amplifier), much in the same way as an [electric guitar](/source/electric_guitar) or [violin](/source/electric_violin). The ''krar'', along with the ''[masenqo](/source/masenqo)'' and the ''[washint](/source/washint)'', is one of the most widespread musical instruments in Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/44011103|title=Timkehet Teffera (2020). Shungul, Sorror, Washint, Woissa, Zumbara|last1=Mekonnen|first1=Timkehet Teffera}}</ref>

==Role in society==
thumb|An Ethiopian musician performing in 2013
===Historical=== 
In [Amhara](/source/Amhara_People) society, the ''krar'' was viewed as an instrument inspired by the [Devil](/source/Devil) and was therefore inferior, whereas the ''[Begena](/source/Begena)'' was for praising God and seen as sacred. The ''krar'' was used to adulate feminine beauty, create sexual arousal, and eulogize carnal love.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Milkias |first=Paulos |author-link= |date=2011 |title=Ethiopia |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=344 |isbn=|oclc=728097838 }}</ref>

The [Derg](/source/Derg) regime banned playing the krar and imprisoned people who played it, especially in the big cities such as [Asmara](/source/Asmara) and [Addis Ababa](/source/Addis_Ababa). The instrument has been associated with brigands, outlaws, and ''Wata'' or ''[Azmari](/source/Azmari)'' wanderers. Wanderers played the ''krar'' to solicit food, and outlaws played it to sing an Amhara war song called ''Fano''.<ref name="auto"/>

===Contemporary===
Today, the ''krar'' which used to be the plaything of the Eritrean, has become one of the most popular Eritrean stringed instruments.<ref name="auto"/>

The ''krar'' is used in [secular music](/source/secular_music), [love song](/source/love_song)s, and poetry. It is popular among poet-musicians called ''Azmari'' or ''Wata''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kebede |date=1977 |title=The Bowl-Lyre of Northeast Africa. Krar: The Devil's Instrument |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/850725 |journal=Ethnomusicology |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=381 |doi=10.2307/850725 |jstor=850725 |access-date=|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Features==
thumb|left|150px|A krar player from Ethiopia
A [chordophone](/source/chordophone), the krar is usually decorated with wood, cloth and [bead](/source/bead)s. Its five or six strings determine the available [pitch](/source/Pitch_(music))es. The instrument's [tone](/source/Timbre) depends on the musician's playing technique: bowing, strumming, or plucking.  If plucked, the instrument will produce a soft tone. [Strum](/source/Strum)ming, on the other hand, will yield a [harmonious](/source/harmony) [pulsation](/source/pulse_(music)).

==Resources ==
* [Asnakech Worku](/source/Asnaketch_Worku), ''[Ethiopiques](/source/Ethiopiques) 16: The Lady with the Krar'' (compact disc). Buda Musique 822652, 2003.
* ''Ethiopie, chants d'amour'' (Ethiopia, Love Songs).  Fantahun Shewankochew, vocals and krar (compact disc). INEDIT/Maison des Cultures du Monde W260080, 1998.

==Films==
*''HELP! – Musikalische Geschichten aus Äthiopien''.  Directed by Daniel Schulz.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kino-kombat.com/partners_schulz.html|title=Kino Kombat &#124; Filmmanufactur|website=Kino-kombat.com|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[Begena](/source/Begena)

==References==
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Eritrean musical instruments
Category:Ethiopian musical instruments
Category:Lyres

{{Lyre-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Krar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.