Ģīga

The ģīga or divstīdzis is a two-stringed bowed zither found in Latvia.

Postage stamp showing Latvian traditional instruments, amongst those the ģīga (2nd instrument from top)

The instrument is descended from the psalmodicon (Latvian: vienstīdzis or manihorka), a bowed monochord developed in Sweden in 1829 for liturgical singing. From there it filtered down to the Latvian peasantry who sometimes added a second string for harmony.

See also

• Giga, a type of bowed lyre
• Fiðla, a bowed zither native to Iceland

Sources

• Folklora.lv