African Musical Instruments

September 18, 2023

8–12 minutes

*Post written by Mona Meyer, Archives and Special Collections Metadata Librarian, with input and assistance from Bill Smith, UASC student worker

The African Cultural Diversity Showcase is a visual display of African cultural artifacts. The first showcase was in 2013 at the University of Southern Indiana. The showcase was envisioned and developed by Joseph Uduehi with the assistance of Dr. Michael Ndemanu and Dr. Amanual Beyin. Other contributors included Dr. Sweet Ebeigbe, whose cultural artifacts from Benin-City, Nigeria have enriched the collection, and (then) Provost Ronald Rochon and Professor Michael Aakhus, both of whose collections have made a valuable impact on the showcase. The goal of the African Cultural Diversity Showcase is to educate the public about African culture through African artifacts. These materials include artifacts, ceramics, textiles, and many other items, including musical instruments, the topic of this blog.

The first two instruments come from the country of Eritrea.

Eritrea’s location on the Red Sea made it an ideal port location, and many larger nations sought to dominate the trade route by dominating Eritrea, including Egypt, Italy, and Turkey. “After independence from Italian colonial control in 1941 and 10 years of British administrative control, the UN established Eritrea as an autonomous region within the Ethiopian federation in 1952. Ethiopia’s full annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a violent 30-year conflict for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean fighters defeating government forces. Eritreans overwhelmingly approved independence in a 1993 referendum.”ⁱⁱ Years of war damaged the economy, which today is largely agricultural. Add to this years of drought and Eritrea, though rich in culture, still struggles with many basic issues.

Above is UA 077-063, a kirar/kirara/kirare/krar (all spellings were found) from Eritrea. What is seen here is 33 cm. by 23 cm. in diameter, and is possibly a decorative copy of a real instrument. A kirar has 5 or 6 strings on some sort of frame and is tuned to a pentatonic scale. Apparently some instruments have 12 or more strings, but the 5-6 variety seems more common. Modern instruments may even be amplified like an electric guitar. It can be plucked or strummed, each technique creating a different tone.

Here a young man is playing a larger version of a kirar. This is an Ethiopian instrument; it is common in both Eritrean and Ethiopian cultures. Image courtesy of Steve Evans.

“There are two main types of lyres in this Northeast African Empire. These are (a) the rare semi-sacred box-lyre called begena, and (b) the secular bowl-lyre called krar. The terms “bowl” and “box” refer to the shapes of the sound resonators of these instruments. The benena, found today only in Ethiopia, is a lyre type with a square, rectangular, or box-shaped sound resonator; the krar is a lyre type with a circular or bowl-shaped sound resonator. The krar is always employed in the performance of secular music.”¹

Legend has it that God made the begena and gave it to King David, who used it to compose his psalms and glorify God. The devil, jealous of this, created a bastardized version, the krar, and decreed that it would glorify carnal love. The same distinctions apply in contemporary usage–the begena being used to accompany sacred or semi-sacred themes and the krar, aka the devil’s instrument, for secular themes.

Above is a video of a modern kirar being played.

Another instrument in the collection, also from Eritrea, is this chera wata, seen below. Made of horsehair, goat skin, and wood, this is similar to a violin and played with a small bow.

Below is a video that includes the chera wata, along with other instruments and dancing.

Also from Eritrea is this percussion instrument below, called a tsenasel. Sized 21.75 cm. by 8.75 cm., the wooden handle holds up a golden metal rectangle which has notches on the top and is riddled with holes throughout the sides. In the middle of the rectangle lie two metals bars with 3 metal corks each that slide back and forth with the moving of the device, creating a clanking noise. It is mostly played in church recitals.

The next instrument is from South Africa. “South Africa, the southernmost country on the African continent, renowned for its varied topography, great natural beauty, and cultural diversity, all of which have made the country a favoured destination for travelers since the legal ending of apartheid (Afrikaans: “apartness,” or racial separation) in 1994. South Africa’s remoteness…helped reinforce the official system of apartheid for a large part of the 20th century. With that system, the government, controlled by the minority white population, enforced segregation between government-defined races in housing, education, and virtually all spheres of life, creating in effect three nations: one of whites (consisting of peoples primarily of British and Dutch [Boer] ancestry, who struggled for generations to gain political supremacy, a struggle that reached its violent apex with the South African War of 1899–1902); one of Blacks (consisting of such peoples as the San hunter-gatherers of the northwestern desert, the Zulu herders of the eastern plateaus, and the Khoekhoe farmers of the southern Cape regions); and one of “Coloureds” (mixed-race people) and ethnic Asians (Indians, Malays, Filipinos, and Chinese). The apartheid regime was disdained and even vehemently opposed by much of the world community, and by the mid-1980s South Africa found itself among the world’s pariah states, the subject of economic and cultural boycotts that affected almost every aspect of life. …Eventually forced to confront the untenable nature of ethnic separatism in a multicultural land, the South African government of F.W. de Klerk (1989–94) began to repeal apartheid laws. That process in turn set in motion a transition toward universal suffrage and a true electoral democracy, which culminated in the 1994 election of a government led by the Black majority under the leadership of the long-imprisoned dissident Nelson Mandela.”ⁱⁱⁱ

Made from a calabash (a bottle gourd), this has metal keys and a wooden base, and is 7.5 in. by 4.5 in.and was identified as a marimba. It is played with both thumbs, and the tone is dependent upon the length of the keys and the maker. Originally this designation as a marimba was confusing, because the marimba with which I am familiar is more like a xylophone, and played with mallets. The image seen here is what I’d call a thumb piano. Fortunately, Encyclopedia Britannica online cleared this up: “mbira, also called mbila sansa, kilembe, likembe, timbrh, or thumb piano, [this is a] plucked idiophone (instrument whose sounding parts are resonant solids belonging to the body of the instrument itself) …—that is unique to Africa and widely distributed throughout the continent. ..Reported by European travelers as early as 1586, the mbira is found in the same areas as the xylophone, to which its tuning is similar and with which it shares several local names. It was taken by enslaved Africans to Latin America, where it developed into a number of unique forms. Many of these Latin American instruments are known by some variant of the term marimba.”^iv

We now move to Cameroon, the source of our next two instruments.

“Cameroon resulted from the merger of former French and British Cameroon in the early 1960s. The country has generally enjoyed stability, permitting the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and a petroleum industry.”^v It has more than 200 different ethnic groups, and is a generally prosperous country.

Above is also a percussion instrument, with three rattle heads joined together in one handle wrapped in dried rope. It is 9 in. by 3 in. in size.

Above is an Atenben. This wooden instrument with black dotted patterns resembles a flute and would be played on both festival and personal occasions. Information found about this instrument refers to it as originating in Ghana. “The Atenteben has six finger holes and one thumb hole, and the mouthpiece is cut at an angle to allow for better sound production. The Atenteben is usually around 40-50cm in length and has a diameter of around 2-3cm. Playing the Atenteben requires a special technique. The player blows into the mouthpiece while covering the finger holes to produce different notes. The thumb hole is used to control the volume and pitch of the notes. The Atenteben is played in an upright position, and the player’s fingers must be positioned correctly to produce the correct notes. The Atenteben is often played in ensembles, and the players use different techniques to create a beautiful harmony. The Atenteben is also used to accompany traditional Ghanaian dances such as Adowa and Kete.”^vi

The last instrument comes from Kenya, specifically from the Luo people. As a country, Kenya is perhaps best known for its sweepingly beautiful wildlife reserves. It was a Portuguese colony in the 1500s, and was divided between the German and British in 1890, finally gaining independence in 1963. “The Luo are the fourth largest ethnic group in Kenya. They speak ‘Dholuo’ which is part of the Nilotic language group. Known as ‘Ramogi’s descendants,’ the Luo community are in particular known for their musical skills and instruments. Notable Luos include: the former Prime Minister of Kenya, Raila Odinga; the former president of the United States of America, Barack Obama; and the environmental scientist and Nobel Prize winner, Professor Sam Odingo.”^vii

The final instrument is not really an instrument, but rather a statue of a man playing a horn-shaped instrument. The statuette is 22.5 cm.by 8.5 cm. in diameter and made of wood. The instrument is an Oporo. “A curved antelope horn (called Kudu), it is often decorated with multicolored beads [and] played by blowing air through the mouth. It’s a very difficult instrument to play and requires much force to blow: in this way it produces different sounds and also pleasant modulations.The oporo… [was] originally was used to communicate over long distances, especially when celebrating a funeral, a wedding, the “baraza” (a meeting) or during the visit of an important person.Today it is used during the ceremonies …to amplify the emotion and pressing on the rhythm of music, with other traditional instruments, especially to accompany the dances and songs.”^viii

The following video contains brief clips of 26 famous African musical instruments, many of which are not included in our collection. Some may sound alien to our western ears, but part of learning about different cultures means experiencing things we don’t immediately understand. Enjoy, and take a look at this listing of the many different items contained within UA 077, the African Cultural Diversity Showcase Collection.