Highland half-bellied zithers

In the field of folk art, we know of countless examples when, following an idea or invention (shape, decoration, color combination), the resulting artwork, creation, became the emblem or ideological symbol of the settlement or the entire region. Such examples include the pottery of Nádudvar, Korond, or Mórágy, the embroidery of Kalocsa, Matyó, or Kalotaszeg, etc. ; In the field of folk instruments, especially table zithers, knowing the general prevalence of these instruments and the diverse mix of forms, it is not as simple and clear to define local and regional types as in embroidery, weaving, folk costume research, or pottery. ; More than ten years ago, I started a long-term exploratory research program to survey and define the form and territory of zithers. I described more than half a thousand instruments on data sheets and documented them with photos. As a result of this research work, I managed to elevate the middle-Bácska rimmed zithers and the highland wide-plate box zithers to regional value. ; By further processing the collected data, I defined two new local and regional zither types. Both from the northern areas, i.e. the Highlands. ; ; One is the central-bellied “búbos” zither from Jóka and Illésháza. The other is the “half-bellied” zither typically documented from the central region of the northern dialect, the Paloc region. ; ; As a result of my more than ten years of formal and structural research, several previously unknown and unaccounted zither form variants have come into view, such as the stacked, multi-box form, the small-headed zither carved from a single piece, or the trapezoidal-based small-headed zither. ; Likewise, a newly described and rare curiosity is the half-belly zither form variant, typically documented from northern areas. ; The form ideal of half-belly zithers presumably arose from the combined characteristics of the small-headed and belly types. In these instruments, the outer rim is convex, but does not (or only barely perceptibly) curve back towards the foot. Its contour can be described approximately with a small h. ; The form type is not uniform: the Nagymaros zither has a convex half-belly enriched with small heads, while in the Palóc Museum in Balassagyarmat we can find an instrument with “side head” strings built into the rim of the half-belly. ; The half-belly zithers documented so far have been found in the central, Paloc region of the northern area: Nagymaros, Százd, Ipoly-vidéki, Szécsénykovácsi, Balassagyarmat-vidéke and Sajóvelezd. ; Further exploratory research would be needed to precisely determine the prevalence of this form variant, but to our knowledge this form variant has not been found in other areas. ; ; Detailed description of the documented instruments: ; A detailed description of the instruments from Százd, Szécsénykovácsi and Nagymaros can be found in the book by Ferenc Borsi: The Hungarian Table Cither (pp. 87–94). ;