Krakeb

{{Infobox instrument | name = Qraqeb | names = Qraqeb, qaragib, garagab, nwaqess, shkashek, tsaqtsaqa, chakchaga, shaqshaqa<ref name=Grove>{{cite book |title= The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments |editor= Stanley Sadie | author= Christian Poche |entry= Shkashek |volume= 3 |page= 375 |publisher=Macmillan Press |place= New York |date= 1984}}</ref> | image = Qaraqib.jpg | caption = Set of ''qraqeb'' | background = | classification = Idiophone | hornbostel_sachs = | hornbostel_sachs_desc = | inventors = | developed = | range = | related =qairaq | musicians = | builders = | articles = }} [[File:قراقبي ف عرس.webm|thumb|Use of Qraqeb in a wedding in the city of Salé, Morocco - November 2025]] '''Qraqeb''' or '''garagab''' or '''Qarqabate''' ({{langx|ar|قراقب}}), in English often transliterated as '''krakeb''', are a iron castanet-like musical instrument primarily used as the rhythmic aspect of Gnawa music.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = {{sic|Mor|rocan|hide=y}} Krakebs {{!}} Drum sequencer featuring percussion instruments from around the world|url = http://www.rhythmsoftheearth.com/morrocan-krakebs|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150927024155/http://www.rhythmsoftheearth.com/morrocan-krakebs|url-status = dead|archive-date = 2015-09-27|website = www.rhythmsoftheearth.com|accessdate = 2015-09-26}}</ref> Gnawa today is part of the North African culture and is inherent in the Maghrebi soundscape. The word '''qraqeb''' is a plural form (with the singular being '''qarqab'''), with an unclear etymology, as the word does not occur in Standard Arabic with this meaning.

== Cultural significance == Gnawa music is a spiritual music representing the history of sub-Saharan West African people who were sold as slaves<ref>{{Cite journal|journal = The Journal of African History|date = 2008-07-01|issn = 1469-5138|pages = 241–260|volume = 49|issue = 2|doi = 10.1017/S002185370800368X|first = Chouki El|last = Hamel|title = Constructing a Diasporic Identity: Tracing the Origins of the Gnawa Spiritual Group in Morocco| s2cid=162902867 }}</ref> in present-day Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia or Greater Maghreb. "...stories are told to those who are connected with their history by the very sound of the ''krakebs'' – they represent the sound of horses hooves hitting the ground as their people were carried away in grain sacks, and the rattling of shackles that used to hold their people captive.".<ref name=":0" /> They are also said to represent shackles which slaves removed when they became free men. Several specific rhythms played by Gnawa musicians on Qarqabat (often accompanied by hajhuj or sintir) symbolise this freedom.

== Body == Krakeb are similar to large iron castanets in that they are handheld cymbal-type instruments which are handmade from iron or steel.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Moroccan Qraqeb, Musical Instruments from Morocco at Moroccan Caravan|url = http://www.moroccancaravan.com/item.asp?p=800|website = www.moroccancaravan.com|accessdate = 2015-09-26}}</ref> They are idiophones, meaning that their sound comes from the vibration of the instrument's body. The body is four cymbals (two on each side) attached by a string. Since they are played with one hand, the musician usually holds one in each to play simultaneously.

== Playing == In the Gnawa style, krakeb stay closed between hits so that the instrument clanging shut is the most prominent sound. In Tunisia, they are hit and pulled back apart quickly so that the ringing of the instrument is the most prominent sound. Generally, there is one sintir (guimbri) and up to 20 krakeb players per Gnawa ensemble. Curtis Blues shows examples of these playings, as well as other cultural significances of this instrument in the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO-9nzR79pc<!--

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==External links== [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPcJ2OM1c9o Video with musicians playing krakeb castanets.]

Category:Moroccan musical instruments Category:Algerian musical instruments Category:Tunisian musical instruments Category:Arabic musical instruments Category:Sahrawi musical instruments Category:Berber musical instruments Category:Concussion idiophones Category:Gnawa music