Gusle
The gusle (Serbian Cyrillic: гусле) or lahuta (Albanian: lahutë) is a bowed single-stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). The instrument is always accompanied by singing; musical folklore, specifically epic poetry. The gusle player holds the instrument vertically between his knees, with the left hand fingers on the strings. The strings are never pressed to the neck, giving a harmonic and unique sound.
For the multi-string instrument, see Gusli.String instrument
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(Bowl lyre sounded by a bow)
Singing to the accompaniment of the Gusle as a part of Serbia's intangible cultural heritage was inscribed in 2018 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO.
Origin[edit]
There is no consensus about the origin of the instrument.[1] 7th-century Byzantine Greek historian Theophylact Simocatta (fl. c. 630) wrote about "small lyres" brought by the South Slavs who settled the Balkans; some researchers believe that this might have been the gusle.[1] Others, such as F. Sachs, believe that the gusle has an Oriental origin, brought to Europe in the 10th century via the Islamic cultural wave.[1] Arab travellers report evidence that the Slavs used the gusle in the 10th century.[2] Teodosije the Hilandarian (1246–1328) wrote that Stefan Nemanjić (r. 1196–1228) often entertained the Serbian nobility with musicians with drums and "gusle".[3] Reliable written records about the gusle appear only in the 15th century.[1] 16th-century travel memoirs mention the instrument in Bosnia and Serbia.[1] In the 19th- and 20th century the instrument is mentioned in Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Albania where it is called Lahuta.[1]
Etymology[edit]
The Old Slavic root morpheme gǫdsli (Russian gúsli, slovak husle, Czech housle, Slovenian gósli) is associated with guditi/gósti, or gudalo/godalo, related to onomatopoeia for a low resonating sound; cf. gu(n)delj/гу(н)дељ = cockchafer, which makes such sound when flying.
The exact origin of the nominations of the related concepts gusle, gadulka, gudok and gudalo, the latter as the name for the bow of the gusle could also illuminate a more accurate assignment in the history of the Gusle after Walther Wünsch.
In the parlance of the South Slavs, in addition to the feminine plurale tantum "gusle" that has prevailed as a lexeme, even the older "gusli", which is found in the area of the middle Drina River region to Arilje and throughout Montenegro. The use of the phonemes /e/ and /i/ is in the same language as the same speaker, or it can be used in lyrics or everyday speech.
The singular form "gusla" is found only in Eastern Serbia, west of the Timok, around Niš, Ivanjica, as well as in the area of the Zlatibor. On Korčula only "gusla" is in use.
The term "gusle" by Alberto Fortis has been introduced into European literature. "Gusle" is in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian linguistic usage, however, a feminine plurale tantum (Serbo-Croatian gusla or gusle, Albanian lahuta or lahutë).