African Musical Instrument Thumb Piano Harp Fiddle Drum

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Gallery Ezakwantu
African Art - Art Africain - Tribal Art - 菲洲艺术 - Afrikanische Kunst

Central and Southern African Tribal Art

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African Musical Instruments

Instruments de Musique Africains - Afrikanische Musikinstrument

Ngbaka Harp - Congo DRC

M'Bala - Bouaka - Buaka - Bwaka - Harp

Importante Harpe Ngbaka

Ngbaka Harp - circa 1950

The Ngbaka live in the far north west of Congo. They migrated there from Lake Tchad (Lke Chad) around 1920. They are well known for their anthropomorphic harps. The example above and below is exceptional. It depicts the Ngbaka central forehead knobs, scarification that Casimir Zagourski photographed during the period.

The large figure stands at 49 cms. Shoulder points measure + - 18 cms across. A single hard fibre cord remains.

The Ngbaka harp is steeped in historical trade history. The resonator cover tin was once part of a vegetable oil container imported from East Africa. The colonial nails are also old and probably originated in Belgium.

Hard fibre cord decorates each ear, one with an attached Queen Elizabeth The Second medallion. Rear resonator holes are of different diameters, each burned separately with an ironsmiths hot poker. A copper ring adorns the nose (below).

This figurative harp is adorned with nearly Luba stylized coffee bean eyes, so much so that it may be suggested the artist travelled from one region to the other.

Additional images of this and other objects are available on request.

Rare East African Musical Instrument

Zigua 'or related' Fiddle / Chordophone

Above, an East African fiddle commonly called Zeze - Izeze and / or Endingidi. Zeze were played with a bow, a small wooden stick, or plucked with the fingers. The object was collected in the 1930's, then found its way to the collection of Joan Hoather, the owner of Gainsboraugh Galleries at the Carlton Centre - Johannesburg. Joan Hoather bequeathed this and other early collected objects to her friend Mrs M. Olivier.

Tervuren Exhibition 1987 Afrikanische Saiten-Instrumente Tervuren Exhibition 1987

The images above show zeze's played by traditional musicians. Those to the left and far right were part of a musical exhibition held at Musée Royal de l'Afrique at Tervuren during 1987. The centre image appears on page 122 in Afrikanische Saiten-Instrumente. Attention is drawn to an absence of figurative examples found in these illustrations. Page 47 of 'The Traditional Musical Instruments of Tanzania' records: In some areas the neck end can be beautifully carved in different shapes. In Musical competitions in Shinyanga and Ukerewe the beauty of the instrument is taken into consideration, since listeners are attracted not only by good playing, but also by the unusual shaping of the instruments as well as the special dress of the musicians.

Our zeze fiddle is adorned with a female finial. It was played with a resonator, most likely a calabash (see below). It stands at 66 centimetres tall and reveals an old deep set patina. The lead or aluminium inlayed eyes are not uncommon in early collected East African figurative sculpture, however the addition of inlayed teeth with a single nose plug is unheard of.

Non figurative Zezi - The Traditional Musical Instruments of Tanzania - Page 45

Marc Leo Felix describes zizi fiddles as follows in Mwana Hiti page 328: This instrument of Near Eastern origin is played by striking it with a short bow. It is usually played by professional traveling musicians who go from village to village to perform at ceremonies. These instruments are found mainly among the people living near the coast such as the Doë and Kwere, but the Zaramo, Kaguru, and Luguru also have a few examples. On page 308 he writes of a related object: It was played during rituals and festivities, as well as to accompany the songs sung in praise of leaders. It is found among the peoples living nearest to the coast. It can be plucked or struck, though few people know how to play it, perhaps because of its rarity.

MWANA HITI - Page 307 East African Zeze

In addition to the Doë, Kwere, Zaramo, Kaguru, and Luguru tribes mentioned, the Kahe, Nyamwezi and groups reaching well into Rwanda also enjoyed the entertainment of the zeze. We feel our example may be Zegua as per Plate 132 (above left), falling within Marc Felix's core area. Both objects display short arms - inlayed eyes - exaggerated ears - small nose - slightly indented facial features and are made of hard black wood.

MWANA HITI - Page 332 Ostafrikanische Plastik - Plate 216 Ostafrikanische Plastik - Plate 265

The age and rarity of zeze's allows for a perished calabash, as most East African zeze fiddles did not survive. Those that did are for the most part incomplete, as shown above.

Three well worn groves appear to the rear of the main staff. Beads further down date to 1920 or before (Venetian) and were set into an indented carved section that anchors them to a fixed position. Next to this is an old wooden plug meant to support the perished resonator.

Additional images of this and other objects are available on request.

Thumb Pianos - Lekembe - Mbira

Western Zambia - Angola - DRC - Botswana

Lekembe and Mbira, are generic names for several African thumb pianos or lamellophones. Tongues or keys are made of wood, iron or bamboo. In South Africa thumb pianos are called kalinda or kalimba and sometimes sansa. The object on offer is typical of those used in south western Congo, western Zambia and large swaths of Angola. The object came to us from an estate sale which included mostly southern African beaded objects dating to the 1940's. It measures + - 3.5 x 16 x 26 centimetres and produces an excellent sound.

Old Man Girl playing similar Lekembe - Circa 1950 Another

In south western Congo, western Zambia and much of Angola, a thumb piano is called Casagi, Lekembe and Sanza. Marie Louise Bastin referred to related examples in Angola as Lungandu. The carved incised face is a representation of an ancestral initiation mask. Hornet's wax was added to seal the carved compartment (image above right).

Another

This thumb piano was purchased in Portugal from a colonial collection, the context confirming a collection date of early 1960's or before. It measures + - 4 x 14 x 24.5 centimetres.

Two generations of carvings appear on the lower face (and sides) of the Sanza thumb piano. An original 'cowrie' shape (money / currency) form appears boldly on the lower base. Looking closely at the carving lines one sees that the carnivorous water tortoise (head / tail) was over-carved on original horizontal lines, confirming the large cowrie was overtaken by a secondary carver.

Two lines of five cowries were carved on the reverse / bottom. At the top are two rows of chevron motif patterns are found.

The side panels of the resonator look new, but they are in excess of fifty year of age, having been replaced about the time of collection - (prior to the Angolan war). We opened one to discover the source of the internal rattle. Two pieces of thick bottle glass and four Portuguese 50 centavo coins dated 1950 were found.

African Rattles - Anklets

Bushman - San - Swazi - Venda - Chokwe

Click pictures to view a larger image.

Ba Tonga Drums

Zambia - Zimbabwe

Budima Funeral Drums of the BaTonga

Ba Tonka Celebration - Zambia - 1991

The Batonga (Batonka - Ba Tonka - Batonga) had lived for centuries along the north and south bank of the Zambezi River, known locally as Gwembe. They currently live on either side of Lake Kariba. In 1960, the Kariba dam hydroelectric project was completed, creating the largest manmade lake or reservoir ever built. The Gwembe Valley was flooded and the Ba Tonka relocated by rising waters (sometimes forcibly). The lake created a physical separation. Villagers who once looked across the river at each other or went there to farm, now had to travel up to 40 kilometres across by boat. (20 miles). This division as further reinforced when the lake itself was divided into the nations of Zambia and Zimbabwe. (Prior to this the region had been a part of the British Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.)

Lake Kariba - Zambia Top - Zimbabwe Bottom - Dam wall Right

The Ba Tonga nation had been divided by exposure to European colonial rule like no other tribe on the African continent. Half a century later, and despite the turbulence of alternating political and economic upheavals, the Ba Tonga of Zambia and Zimbabwe remain a recognizable ethnic group. A single uniting force that drove a people to bind, were their communally owned funeral drums.

Our trio of BaTonga Budima Drums - which include a rare mother drum.

African Drums - Ba Tonga Funeral Drums

African drums or membranophones, produce sound by way of vibrating a stretched membrane, usually hide.

Music plays a significant role in the life of the Ba Tonka community. Drumming is by far their most important musical activity. It provides a mode for personal expression and a means of communication between people, villages and the spiritual world.

The trio of drums on offer (above and further down) are funeral drums called Budima. This shape is unique to the Tonga people and as such, they are their most recognizable drum form. The centre example is a rare Mother Drum, which is always the largest of a set numbering up to 20. Drums are sheltered in communal structure as below.

Ba Tonka Drums in Communal Storage - Zimbabwe - 1991

The reverse side of our trio of Ba Tonka Drums

Funeral drums are not only played at funerals. Gallery Ezakwantu photographed many sets that came together during a Zambian political rally in 1991. President Kaunda (waving his pathetic trademark white handkerchief) made an appearance - while villagers were trucked in with drum sets from 100 kilometres away. The good president left fifty 200 litre drums of Chibuku - a local African millet beer - which evolved into a 3 day party. We made a video on old VHS tape, which we intend to convert and add to this page! In the meantime, enjoy the next picture, as well as the uppermost and very last in this section.

Even in such an atmosphere, with maybe 200 drums present, we failed to purchase one. The reason?

Ba Tonka UNIP Rally - Zambia - 1991

Funeral drums were traditionally made from a tree that grew along the banks of the Zambezi River. The trees lived up to 300 years, but were submerged by Lake Kariba. Unable to make a replacement, people became reluctant to sell even the smallest examples. Adding to the difficulty of a purchase, the drums were not owned by individuals, but collectively by a number of villages. Invariably, one or more village elders were not to be found, which made it impossible to arrive at consensus. This matter of fact explanation - goes far to confirm that the traditions and culture of the Gwembe Ba Tonga, are intricately bound in a large part, by funeral drums.

Click thumbnails below to view larger images of our drum trio offered as a set.

Clive Venning collected these drums during the 1980's. At the time, Clive was an aspiring photographer working in the area. He made numerous trips and photographically detailed the tribal peoples on both sides of the Zambezi / Lake Kariba.

This is the largest of the three Tonga Budima drums - known as the Mother drum. Adding to her character, the old partially painted base was covered in hide. There is also a charming tin repair on the body. This drum stands at + - 90 cms tall and almost 60 cms wide. (+ - 35 x 24 inches)

With few exceptions, men make and play Ba Tonka drums. Each drummer plays one drum. They have a single pegged hide skin and stand on a hollow pedestal, like a goblet. When the crowd moves, the drummer carries the drum with a sling over the shoulder. Visually stimulating historic theatrical productions are enacted. Other men blow funeral whistles, made of horn or wood. Women provide accompaniment by clapping their hands and shaking rattles and they are the main singers.

Ba Tonga Celebration - Zambia - Circa 1990

Click here to view two fine Ba Tonka stools in our African Thrones - Stools - Chairs section.