Masenqo

The Masinko, also masenqo, messenqo, is a one-stringed lute box spit in Ethiopia. The only traditional string instrument of the country is mostly ballads of professional singers played ( Azmaris ) for entertainment.

Origin and Distribution

The North Africa widespread spit sounds are divided into three groups, the design point to a different origin. In spit sounds of the long straight, consisting of a wooden stick neck goes through the body and protrudes on the opposite side for a short distance beyond. In West Africa, inland spit sounds are common with shell-shaped resonators. These include the Zupflauten ngoni in Mali and their relatives in the Sahara: the tidinit in Mauritania and the tahardent, her counterpart in the Tuareg, as well as the one-stringed fiddle Imzad the Tuareg and the Goge, the same character played by the Hausa instrument. They came out of Egypt early in the Maghreb, there were taken up by the Arab conquerors and brought to the Islamization from the 11th century to the south in the western Sudan region. In East Africa, some tube spit violins since the end of the 19th century on the type of Ugandan endingidi spread whose origin is suspected in China.

The third, rarer group are the box spit sounds whose rectangular corpus consists of four joined together to form a frame boards. Three-stringed plucked lute, the most well-known Moroccan is Gimbri. Of the formerly north of the Sahara spread one-string violins spit is practically only the rarely played ribab the Moroccan - Berber Schlöh left with a small box-shaped sound box. The origin of the one-string box-shaped spit violins is seen in the played by the Arab Bedouins " poets fiddle " rabābah. As the epithet expresses, this is on both sides strung with animal skin instrument part old regional narrative traditions and was formerly mainly from the Sulubba ( Sulaib, SLEB ), a despised tribe of blacksmiths, tinkers and donkey breeders played. In variations of the word rebab many other stringed instruments from Morocco to Southeast Asia are known. The distribution of masinko approximately corresponds to the end-blown flute of Ethiopian waschint with four finger holes. The fact that in West Africa, an almost identical flute occurs in the Tuareg, the relationship between the masinko and the local fiddle corroborated Imzad.

Design

The Bedouin rabābah has a square body that is perpendicular penetrated in middle of the page from the wooden truss rod. When masinko the neck runs diagonally through holes in opposite corners. While the Moroccan ribab the vortex is obliquely inserted through the neck end, so that the string leads asymmetrically on one side of the bridge, stands the long vertebrae in rababa and masinko perpendicular to the front. The only horsehair string runs with more than ten centimeters to the neck from head to via the web. Directly behind it is knotted according to the West African dish sounds from the ngoni type to a string or leather sling, which in turn is attached to the neck of the spit that protrudes on the lower body a little corner. Instead of the ceiling and floor of solid material, the body frame is coated on both sides with untanned cow or goat skin. A running around the side seam joins the pieces of skin. As a web is a V-shaped woody branch can be placed in two positions with different sound result: Rest of the web with one of the two legs on the outer wooden frame, the transmission of vibration of the string is carried out only via the other leg to the skin membrane, a clean tone results. In contrast, a centrally on the membrane and slightly obliquely imputed web produces a less clear tone.

For the body frame are machined timber beside himself also boards of overseas packaging boxes or disposable pallets. The woodworking is done only roughly with the ax, then with broken glass as a scraper, after smoothing with sandpaper. To clean the fresh animal skin, it is first placed in boiling water, then rolled up, wrapped with a cloth and packed in air-tight material. After four to seven days the skin is softened enough so that it can be scraped off in warm water. The wet -wound skin stretches during drying by itself and achieved the necessary strength. The 35 to 40 centimeters long string bow consists of a piece of branch, the heated over the fire and is fitted at the ends with a cord to the desired half circle. After a week of drying, the molding is sufficiently stabilized, the branch is cut to the required length dimension and covered with a tuft of about 130 horse-hair. In order to increase the friction strokes the player's bow hair with a resin incense.

There are regional differences in body sizes. In the Tigray region in the north it is about twice as large as that of the Oromo in the south, while the Amhara build a medium-sized instrument. Use the Oromo both the masinko, so also for the shell lyre krar the term timbo.

Play

The player holds the masinko sitting upright between his knees, leaning his neck to the left shoulder. When standing playing Azmaris the instrument played on a diagonal over the shoulder hanging strap. In both positions, the lower end of the vertebra protrudes into the left armpit. With the left palm on the neck touching the string with the fingers extended slightly from the side. There is no fingerboard to depress the string. The masinko has a warm, full sound and can be played with amazing virtuosity. In instrumentals the basic melody is richly ornamented, as an accompanying instrument follows the masinko about the singing voice.

Azmaris were formerly the nobles to services. Today they carry price and abusive songs before either as a solo or with a singer in Tej bets, simple restaurants where the Tej honey wine is served. In the duo 's wife begins with the singing, followed the man until both sing together. The singer shakes her shoulders in Eskista, the traditional dance of the Amhara. Women alone do not occur on making music. The wandering balladeers have a repertoire of mythological inflated tales from the past, old battle songs and stories of everyday life. For their clients at weddings and other family celebrations, they seal songs of praise and comment on the day's events; the improvised mockery of Azmaris can be directed against politics in general or to those present in the room, especially if they fail to timely zuzustecken a small bill. In religious ceremonies Azmaris to mingle with the crowd to earn with Christian hymns and masinko game a bit of cash. Despite their important cultural function Azmaris have traditionally had a low social status. One of the most masinko -playing Azmaris is Chalachew Ashenafi.

In the highlands of Ethiopia are four pentatonic musical scales (modes, kinit in Ethiopia ), which stand for a particular genre of songs at the same time. One of them anchihoy, the music of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is reserved that is not played on the masinko. The Azmaris most popular is the scale Tizita, which stands for " nostalgia ", " feeling ", " memory" and "desire". Azmaris made ​​popular by the Tizita accompanied by masinko or krar singing. The wistful -sounding melodies form the basis for the developed in the 1960s Ethiopian jazz music. The classical scale Ambassel and its distant cousin scale batti can be played on the masinko. One of the two variants of the Ambassel corresponds to the Mixolydian mode. In addition, the Dorian and Phrygian mode are common. The strings are tuned according to the respective scale ( kinit ).

In addition to the Bard Music of Azmaris exist orchestra, in which the masinko plays together in the secular entertainment music with other traditional melodic instruments and drums. A typical cast consists of two masinkos, a krar and one to three bamboo flutes longitudinal ( waschint ). The doppelfelligen, beaten with hands and drums kebero Atamo generally play only a minor role.

Discography

• Orchestra Ethiopia. Ethiopiques Buda Musique 23, Paris
• Traditional music from Ethiopia. Alemayehu Fantaye ( masinko, krar, beganna, vocals), Yohannes Afework ( washint ). Acustic Music Records, Osnabrück 1994