Arap Chemonget

A praise song with Chepkongo 6 string bowl lyre. This lyre is strummed and fingered like the Bangwe zither of Nyasaland. The right hand strums the strings and the left mutes or opens the 6 strings, making it possible to play two or three chords on the open un-muted strings. The singer mentions by name his home village, places of common interest to his friends. The player flips the body of his lyre on the 2nd and 4th beats. In common with several African verse makers, the singer sings in couplets, repeating the second phrase and making it the first line of the next.Details from ILAM field card number: D6L 3