simsimiyya
Sign in to saveAlso known as sinsimia, sinsimiyya, semsemiah
The simsimiyya (Arabic: سمسمية or سنسمية simsimyya/sinsimiyya; pl. simsimiyyāt/sinsimiyyāt, سمسميات) is a box or bowl lyre used in Egypt. Models exist with both circular soundboxes as well as rectangular. In the past, Egyptian models had 5 strings. The strings are held in place by pegs instead of tuning rings. Today, images of the instrument in Egypt may show 12 strings. It has been played since ancient times.
Key facts
- Instrument.name
- Simsimiyya
- Instrument.image
- Joueur de Simsimiyya (Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris) (8237760204).jpg
- Instrument.caption
- A simsimiyya being played by an Egyptian band.
- Instrument.classification
- Stringed instruments
- Intangible heritage.ICH
- Semsemiah: instrument crafting and playing
- Intangible heritage.Countries
- Egypt
- Intangible heritage.ID
- 02119
- Intangible heritage.Region
- Ancient Egypt
- Intangible heritage.Year
- 2024
- Intangible heritage.Session
- 19th
- Intangible heritage.List
- Representative
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- Plucked string instrument
- Country
- Egypt
- Image
- 1F0A3859.jpg
- Has use
- music of Egypt
Show 3 more facts
- indigenous to
- North Africa
- Commons category
- Simsimiyya
- intangible cultural heritage status
- Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
2 sectionsContents
- References
- See also
The simsimiyya (Arabic: سمسمية or سنسمية simsimyya/sinsimiyya; pl. simsimiyyāt/sinsimiyyāt, سمسميات) is a box or bowl lyre used in Egypt. Models exist with both circular soundboxes as well as rectangular. In the past, Egyptian models had 5 strings. The strings are held in place by pegs instead of tuning rings. Today, images of the instrument in Egypt may show 12 strings. It has been played since ancient times.
It is used in Egypt in certain genres of Egyptian music, including Sawahli (coastal) music, which is a type of popular Egyptian music from the country's northern coast. The simsimiyya was probably introduced to the country's northern coast from the Nile valley in the 19th century by Egyptian workers in the Suez canal. It is also used in other genres of Egyptian music. Well-known Egyptian bands that feature the simsimiyya as a main instrument include El Tanbura, which uses other Egyptian instruments.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “simsimiyya” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
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