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Algeria - African Gnawa Musician playing a traditional sintir, also known as the guembri, gimbri or hejhouj, a three-stringed skin-covered bass plucked lute. Date: circa 1910s
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Algeria - African Gnawa Musician playing a traditional sintir, also known as the guembri, gimbri or hejhouj, a three-stringed skin-covered bass plucked lute. Date: circa 1910s
Mary Evans Picture Library makes available wonderful images created for people to enjoy over the centuries
Media ID 24769907
© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection
Algerian Bass Guitar Instrument Lute Musician Plays Plucked Strumming Strums
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This evocative photograph captures the intense focus and raw emotion of an Algerian Gnawa musician as he plays the traditional three-stringed sintir, also known as the guembri, gimbri, or hejhouj. Dating back to the 16th century, the Gnawa people are an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa, with strong roots in sub-Saharan Africa. Their music, a blend of African and Islamic influences, is an essential part of their cultural heritage. The sintir, a skin-covered bass lute, is the cornerstone of Gnawa music. The musician in this image strums the instrument with both hands, coaxing out a deep, resonant sound that is both haunting and hypnotic. The sintir's unique tone is created by the goatskin covering the body of the instrument, which amplifies the sound and gives it a distinctive, earthy timbre. The photograph was taken in the 1910s, a time when Algeria was still a French colony. Despite the cultural and political upheavals of the era, the Gnawa people continued to practice their music and pass it down from generation to generation. This image offers a rare glimpse into a rich and vibrant musical tradition that has survived for centuries, and continues to captivate audiences around the world today.
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