{{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'' | musicians = | builders = | articles = }}
The '''''krar''''' (Geʽez: ክራር) is a five-or-six stringed bowl-shaped lyre from Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is tuned to a pentatonic scale. A modern ''krar'' may be amplified, much in the same way as an electric guitar or violin. The ''krar'', along with the ''masenqo'' and the ''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 society, the ''krar'' was viewed as an instrument inspired by the Devil and was therefore inferior, whereas the ''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 regime banned playing the krar and imprisoned people who played it, especially in the big cities such as Asmara and Addis Ababa. The instrument has been associated with brigands, outlaws, and ''Wata'' or ''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, love songs, 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, the krar is usually decorated with wood, cloth and beads. Its five or six strings determine the available pitches. The instrument's tone depends on the musician's playing technique: bowing, strumming, or plucking. If plucked, the instrument will produce a soft tone. Strumming, on the other hand, will yield a harmonious pulsation.
==Resources == * Asnakech Worku, ''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 | Filmmanufactur|website=Kino-kombat.com|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref>
== See also == *Begena
==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Eritrean musical instruments Category:Ethiopian musical instruments Category:Lyres
{{Lyre-stub}}