Qiñit (; singular; alternatively spelled Qignit) is a term used for a single pentatonic musical scale developed by the Amhara ethnic group of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. A qiñit consists of a set of intervals defining the

mode Mode ( meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * MO''D''E (magazine), a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is the setting fo ...

of a musical piece or the tuning scale of the instrument playing the piece. There are four main qiñit scales: Tizita (ትዝታ), Bati (ባቲ),

Ambassel Ambassel () is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia, and an '' amba'', or mountain fortress, located in the woreda. The word Ambasel is derived from two words "Amba" from the Amharic word for plateau, and “Asel” from the Arabic language, which ...

(አምባሳል), and Anchihoye (አንቺሆዬ). Three additional modes are variations on the above: Tizita minor, Bati major, and Bati minor.

Abatte Barihun Abatte Barihun (; born 1967) is an Israeli jazz saxophonist and composer. His sound is reminiscent of John Coltrane's, who has highly influenced Barihun. Early life and career (1967–1999) Barihun was born in Addis Ababa, the capital city of E ...

, liner notes of the album Ras Deshen, 200. Some songs take the name of their qiñit, such as

Tizita Tizita (var. Tezeta; ; ) is one of the Pentatonic scales or Qañat of the Amhara ethnic group. Etymology and origin The term ''tizita'' is distinctly Tigrinya, and Amharic, there's no Geez equivalent, as opposed to the term ''nafkot'' which ...

, a song of reminiscence.

History

Ashenafi Kebede Ashenafi Kebede (; 1938 – May 8, 1998) was an Ethiopian composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist, historical musicologist, music educator, novelist, and poet. Early life Born in 1938 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ashenafi was educated in musicol ...

was one of the early scholars to standardize the kignits of northern and central Ethiopia.

References

Music of Ethiopia Pentatonic scales {{Ethiopia-stub