A soku (
) is a traditional
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
n instrument used in a type of music called
Wassoulou which originated in the
Wasulu region of southwest
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
. It is a traditional fiddle, sometimes replaced by modernized versions of the instrument. Known as the n'diaraka or ''
njarka'' in
Songhai, and ''
goje'' in
Hausa, it is composed of a single string that usually wails the feminine vocal melody.
References
Bowed instruments
Malian musical instruments
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