According to the usual typology, the handle of the spike-lute does not go all the way through the body of the instrument but terminates close to a hole in the skin which covers the instrument. The strings passing through this hole are tied to the other end of the handle with laces. I will provide data and hypotheses on the origins of this lute, as well as on its geographical distribution and diffusion in Africa, in comparison with that of harps and lyres.