Chonguri (Georgian Four-String Lute)
The chonguri is the four-string fretless lute of western Georgia, carved from a single block of walnut or maple into a shallow bowl, with a flat spruce soundboard and a short drone string called the zili that buzzes beneath the melody strings. It is the instrument of Guria and Samegrelo, where it traditionally accompanied women's songs and the nadi, the evening working gatherings at which women spun, wove and sang, and where the chonguri's quiet, flexible tone fitted a female voice. Unlike the fretted panduri of the east, the chonguri is played with a light, flowing touch, and its three melody