Spike fiddle (endingidi or iningidi) (1900s): Art, History and Details

Spike fiddle (endingidi or iningidi) (1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The endingidi is a single-stringed chordophone musical instrument. Scholars believe it was introduced into the Kingdom of Buganda (in present-day Uganda) between 1904 and 1907. From Uganda, it was later introduced to present-day Rwanda, where it is called iningidi and played by Hutu musicians. Horsehair stretched from the end of the handle and over the reptile-skin–covered tube sound box, and attached to the handle with the wooden tuning peg. A deeply curved bow, now missing, would have allowed a male musician to play the instrument as he held it vertically. Still played today, the music of the endingidi is often heard at weddings or played by royal Bugandan court musicians.

Object facts

• Title: Spike fiddle (endingidi or iningidi)
• Date: 1900s
• Culture: Eastern Africa, Uganda or Rwanda-Burundi, unknown maker
• Type: Musical Instrument
• Technique: Wood, snakeskin, and plant fiber
• Dimensions: Diameter: 10.2 cm (4 in.); Overall: 44.2 cm (17 3/8 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 1929.347

A detail from the museum

A photograph taken around 1929 shows that this instrument once had a tassle of long, black animal hair attached to the handle. This tassel beautified the instrument and gave it a dignified "clothed" presence when played at the Bugandan court.

Collection credit

Gift of the African Art Sponsors of Karamu House

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.