west African stringed musical instrument having a deep boxlike body from which project between two and eight slender, curved arms; one string runs from the end of each arm to a string holder on the belly. The strings are plucked, usually by the fingers, occasionally by plectra attached to the fingers. They are generally played open, as on a harp; in some regions they are stopped, as on a lute. The pluriarc, possibly derived from the musical bow, is known by various names among many peoples of the Congo region and Gabon and a few of southern Africa; as the kissanga it was taken to Cuba by African slaves. As early as the 16th century it was described by the German composer Michael Praetorius.