N'vike
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The n'vike (alternately novike, n'vique, nobike) is a bowed string instrument native to the indigenous Toba people of the Gran Chaco of South America.[1] A modern instrument can be described as a composite lute-type chordophone with a neck made from a pickaxe handle, a resonator made from a tin box and a string rubbed with a bow made of horsehair.[2] The instrument is the result of cultural fusion; Native Americans observed European-style instruments and experimented to create their own.[2]
It is an instrument of the Quechua culture.[1] The instrument functions to "awaken" the dance and to remind people of traditional melodies.[1] It was sometimes accompanied by the Kopakataki drum.[1]
The term n'vike has no equivalent in English, but refers to the act of a jaguar sharpening his claws on a tree.[2]
The n'vike is a monochord which is bowed with a string bow, called checne'c. Originally, the string (lket) was made from the mane of a peccary, but after the arrival of the Spanish horsehair replaced it.[1]
The monochord is placed atop a resonating body such as a calabaza gourd,[1] an armadillo shell, or a tin box with an opening in the top.