Gurmi (lute)
The gurmi is a two or three-stringed lute of the Hausa people of northern Nigeria. May also be called gurumi or kumbo. In looking at the two-finger playing style used by musicians who play the gumbri, researchers have listed it as a possible relative to the banjo. Researchers have talked about the gurmi and gurumi as if these are two different but similar instruments. The instrument is also played by Toubou people and "other peoples of Niger and northern Nigeria." Details It has a soundbox made from a half calabash or gourd, the opening covered with hide for a soundboard. The neck pierces the calabash, its end poking out the bottom of the instrument. Strings are secured to the stump of stick at the bottom and run across a bridge on the hide soundboard to the neck. The strings are secured to the neck by tying them to tuning rings, separate strings or bands tied around the neck. While a member of the xalam family of instruments, the gurmi is specific to the Hausa people. Unlike the xalam, with its oval shaped soundbox, the gurmi's soundbox is round (the shape of the gourd which is its body). They have a