Kisser: Ethiopia musical instrument

The kisser is an ancient Nubian lyre that is still being used in Egypt and Abyssinia. The musical instrument is made up of a body that have rather than a traditional tortoise shell back, a shallow, round bowl of wood, covered with a soundboard that is made of goatskin, in which are three thin round sound-holes. The arms of the musical instrument are set via the soundboard at points distant about the third of the diameter from the circumference, have a similar fan shape. Five gut strings are knotted round the bars of the musical instrument and raised from the soundboard by means of a bridge tailpiece analogous to the one used on the modern version of the guitar, are plucked with the use of a plectrum by the right hand for the melody, while the left hand of the player sometimes twangs some of the strings of the musical instrument as an accompaniment to the soft drone.