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Encyclopedia ID 1257

Çiftelia

Also known as two-string folk lute

Çiftelia: photograph by A.jobs02
Photo: A.jobs02, CC BY-SA 4.0, source on Wikimedia Commons

Pluck the melody string while the drone string keeps time, matching falling notes in a bright highland song.

Heritage note

Part of the living heritage of Albania.

Origins

Usually placed in the era of Crossroads and Golden Ages (about 500 to 1500), although its exact origins are uncertain, within the cultural world of Mediterranean.

Sources

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