The goje, which is the Hausa name for the instrument, is one of several names for a type of one-stringed fiddle found in West Africa. It is played by groups such as the Yoruba in Sakara music and by West African communities living in the Sahel region. A gourd bowl is covered with snakeskin or lizard skin, and a horsehair string is stretched over a bridge. The goje is played using a bow.

The goje is often used to accompany songs and is typically played alone. However, it also appears in groups with other West African instruments, such as the Shekere, calabash drum, talking drum, or Ney. These instruments include string, wind, and percussion types.

The goje is connected to ancient rituals in the Sahel region before Islam, such as traditions involving beliefs about spirits, including the Bori and Hauka practices of the Maguzawa Hausa, Zarma, Bororo Fulbe, and Songhay peoples. These instruments are highly respected and are believed to link people to the spirit world or to carry voices from or to the spirit world.

The goje is known by many names, including goge or goje (Hausa, Zarma), gonjey (Dagomba, Gurunsi), gonje (Mamprusi, Dagomba), njarka/nzarka (Songhay), n'ko (Bambara, Mandinka, and other Mande languages), riti (Fula, Serer), and nyanyeru or nyanyero.

Among the Hausa, there is another smaller fiddle called the kukkuma. It is used for less spiritual purposes but is played in a way similar to the slightly larger and more respected goje.