Rilya

Rilya Russ. hurdy-gurdy, mentioned from the late 16th c. on, with 2 drone strings tuned a 5th apart, and 1 melody string tuned an oct. above the higher drone. The wheel is covered with rosin-coated leather. It is played chiefly in the Ukraine, also in C. and SW. Russia. In C. Russia it is also called lira or kobza. The body often assumes the form of a flat violin, complete with F holes. It was formerly carried by mendicants, suspended by a strap from the neck. Cf. gudok (206). Zelenin, Dmitrij…