Body carved from one piece of wood and covered in animal skin; string and bow both made of horsehair. The singer half-speaks the Kângë Kreshnikësh, epic cycles running hundreds of lines from memory.
In the 1930s Milman Parry and Albert Lord recorded singers of this tradition and used what they found to argue how the Homeric poems were composed, the foundation of oral-formulaic theory.
Entered UNESCO's Urgent Safeguarding List in 2025.
Catalogue
| Object | Single-string bowed lute, carved from one block |
| String | Horsehair, string and bow both |
| Repertoire | Kângë Kreshnikësh, northern epic cycle |
| Status | UNESCO Urgent Safeguarding List, 2025 |
| Echo | Central to the Parry to Lord oral-formulaic theory |
Research by ARBËR, the Living Museum of Albania. Published facts are verified or presented as open debate.