Arched harp. The resonator consists of a piece of wood hollowed out to form an oblong box with outward-curving walls and an arched back. At the neck end it continues into a 7-shape on which is carved a face in relief. It terminates in a finial in the shape of a female head with an elaborate hair-style, decorated with cloth pads sewn with small buttons and with tails of beads attached to the sides of the head. The finial has bead ear-rings and necklace and is provided with looking-glass eyes. The neck is tied to the lower part of the projection by a thong. The body is covered with spotted snakeskin, tied in place by cords which are knotted together along the back of the instrument. A number of the cords are broken. Two round pieces of glass, one silvered, are backed with rosettes of feathers and stuck to the membrane. 6 strings, closely resembling gut violin strings. The pegs are baluster-shaped with cylindrical heads. At their lower ends the strings pass through a tongue under the membrane and are tied on the outside.
