96 BULLETIN 136, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



foot much longer than the left. It has no sound post. Nos. 952-11, 

 951S3, and 95184 are kamanja a' gouz from Cairo, the body of the 

 instrument made of a coconut shell, with belly and bladder glued 

 to the shell. The strings are of horsehair, not twisted. They are 

 passed over a bridge of pitch. 



A group of the bowed stringed instruments used in India is shown 

 in plate 43. The chikara and sarinda are pastoral instruments, and 

 the sarangi is a drawing-room instrument with which the sarode (or 

 sharadiga vina) is frequently played. A " peacock fiddle," or may- 

 uri, completes this group. As already indicated, the chikara is an 

 instrument of the common people (92704 pi. 43c?). The body, neck, 

 and head are made of one block of wood. Its shape is that of an 

 elongated balloon with sides deeply curved inward at the waist. It 

 has three horsehair strings and four sympathetic strings of wire, 

 graduated in length, which pass through eyelet holes in the finger 

 board to their tuning pegs. 



The sarinda is a rude form of the saringa and is known to be an 

 ancient instrument (92703, pi. 43a). Its chief peculiarity is the 

 way in which the parchment belly is put on. This is made to cover 

 only the lower part of the body, leaving the upper half quite open. 

 The upper part of the body is larger than the lower and somewhat 

 like a crescent in outline. The tuning is like that of the chikara and 

 the strings are of gut or silk. The instrument exhibited has three gut 

 strings. It is played with a rude imitation of a European bow. 



The sarangi, according to Tagore, " is a very sweet-toned ancient 

 instrument, intended to accompany the female voice. It is generally 

 used in the performances of the Hindustani nautch girls." Two 

 specimens of this instrument are exhibited. The larger of these 

 (54072, pi. 43Z>) is the type commonly found in the south of India 

 and the Deccan. The resin for the bow is ingeniously placed in the 

 head. It has four gut strings and several sympathetic brass wire 

 strings of graduated lengths. The stick of the bow is covered with 

 maroon velvet. The second specimen of sarangi (9G494, pi. 43c) is 

 the type found in upper India and the Punjab. It is more highly 

 decorated than the former and the head is a different shape. " The 

 head is generally carved to represent the neck of a swan, and the 

 body is rounded instead of square; the number of sympathetic 

 strings, too, is often less. The manner of tuning and playing are the 

 same as in the sarangi of the south." The instrument exhibited has 

 three brass wires played with a bow and eight sympathetic strings. 

 The neck is carved in the shape of a bird's head, and the body is 

 decorated with sprigs of roses in green and gold, and gilt borders on 

 a red ground. The bow is a cylindrical stick colored black, the hair 

 in a round bundle tied to the stick with strings. 





