The Apache fiddle ( Apache: tsii' edo'a'tl, "wood that sings") is a bowed string instrument used by the indigenous Apache people of the southwestern United States. The instrument consists of a plant stalk, such as that of the

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...

or mescal plant. One or sometimes two strings, often made of horse hair, are secured at both ends of the stalk, a bridge and nut added, and the string is played with a bow resined with pine pitch. The string is touched with the fingers to change its note. The

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

holds an Apache fiddle collected in 1875. In 1989 Apache fiddle maker

Chesley Goseyun Wilson Chesley Goseyun Wilson (July 31, 1932 – October 4, 2021) was a maker and performer of the Apache fiddle, singer, dancer, medicine man, silversmith, former model, and actor. Wilson received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endo ...

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

won a

National Heritage Award The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's ...

.1989 NEA National Heritage Fellow: Chesley Goseyun Wilson
, National Endowment for the Arts (USA)

References

Sources

*
Native American Stringed Musical Instruments
' by Daniel Brinton. in ''The American antiquarian and oriental journal'' By Stephen Denison Peet Jameson & Morse, 1897 v. 19, pg 20.

Jon Rose Web, 2005

External links

A maker of Apache fiddles describing the process
{{American Indian musical instruments American Indian musical instruments String instruments Bowed instruments Apache culture Continuous pitch instruments Indigenous American fiddles

See also

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External links