This is a guslar from #Montenegro 🇲🇪 playing the #gusle, a one-string #fiddle used for accompanying oneself while reciting epic #poetry; often concerning heroic deeds, consisting of thousands of lines requiring days to recite fully. The #instrument is made with a (preferably) maple body covered with a skin, a short neck, and a carved head in the shape of important symbols and figures in local #folklore. The string is made from (some sources say 30 strands of) horse-hair, which may be the origin of the name (translating to "fibers").
Evidence of the gusle in #history becomes solid during the 15th century, however there are theories that older accounts from Arabic (10th century) and Byzantine sources (7th century) describe the instrument; the latter referring to a small #Slavic lyre.
The instrument is also found in #Serbia, #Albania, #Bosnia and Herzegovina, and #Croatia, and is also called lahuta.
#StoryTelling #StoryTeller #OralTradition #music #bow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mcu1n8_v80