“This instrument, ‘kissar’, (also known as tanbura outside of northern Sudan) was owned by a musician who plied his trade in the nineteenth century at weddings and other important occasions. These probably included zār tanbura ceremonies – large, open-air events associated with sects across Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt. Although the musicians at zār tanbura ceremonies are typically male, the primary audience is female. During these ceremonies, the lyre is played to calm restless spirits that have possessed the listener and to restore her to full health.
The lyre is anthropomorphic, with two ‘eyes’, a ‘nose’ and outstretched ‘arms’ – and when played it has a ‘voice’. These instruments are perceived to have a spirit of their own and are the jealously guarded property of their owners. The name ‘kissar’ derives from the Nubian word ko:s (bowl) and can also refer to the cavity of the skull and thus to the bulbous resonator of the instrument. The ‘kissar’ is the leading instrument in a small band, which often include drums and tambourines. It is accompanied by a range of celebration songs collectively known as belal (beloved), that denote the various stages of marriage ceremonies.
It would also have been played at other important life-cycle ceremonies, at harvest festivals and zār tanbura ceremonies.
During the zār ceremony, women become entranced by the mesmeric rhythms of the musicians.
They seek to communicate with and to placate whatever zār spirits have taken possession of their bodies in order to regain an equilibrium, which has somehow been disturbed. Zār ceremonies enable women to behave in ways, and to address issues, which would not normally be allowed in society. It is one of several vehicles for the communication of taboo subjects used in the wider region, such as written and symbolic messages on printed cloth such as ‘kanga’.”
- The British Museum
Hear the instrument being played here: https://youtu.be/Ofcsa_vq91g
