A from the 6 stylistic regions

3 basic types of Stringed Instruments: Bowed, Plucked, Beaten

Instruments fall into these categories
Bowed ( fiddles)
Plucked (harps, lutes, zithers, harp-lutes, harp zithers)
Beaten (musical bows, Earth bows)
Instruments played on all occasions: ceremonies, signal beginning
of hunts, praising of tribal heads, wedding ceremonies
Instruments tend to be divided among gender, male and female
instruments, the latter usually being smaller in size
Instrument and musical involvement begins at a young age with
children playing with miniaturized versions of the adult instruments,
helps to develop proficiency at a young age

Musical bows: Popular in E. Africa, the Munahi of Rwanda with its calabash resonating
chamber
Lyres- Common In Nile River area and Ethiopia
Bagana : an 8-10 string lyre, smaller version being the kerar, smaller strings & body
Likembe: the Barundi version of the lyre, brought by the Bantu cultures
Popular Fiddle found in Ethiopia: talking fiddle usually accompanied by Masengo fiddle
- accompanies professional musicians and is used in the proclamation of news
to towns

Eastern Cattle Area Cont.

The kuitra of Zanzibar: a half section shaped gourd with an open
peg box and 8 pairs of strings
Kissars: usually found in Kenya, Uganda , Ethiopian area)
images and discriptions further on
Malagasy Republic (aka Madagascar)
-usage of the tzetze and hova guitar
-obvious Western influence in usage
of the guitar
The Karanga tribesmen of Southern
Rhodesia(aka Zimbabwe)
-usage if the chzambe friction bow,
string is plucked as is classified as a
harp-type chordophone
Bow

 Home to the oldest indigenous people on the African Continent, the Bushmen
Long history is expressed in language with distinctive clicks in dialect and in music
Traditional bamboo flutes with animal sinew; ostrich eggs, mouth, calabash used as
resonating chamber, often accompanied by the popular sanza, or thumb piano
Serankure, another popular string instrument; a monochord trough zither with wire used
as string
Musical Bows: simple bow made of wood and one string stretched between a C shaped
wood cut

Khoison Area Cont.

South African Bushmen- usage of the Gubo
Classified as a viol-type with bowed strings

Bows and Harps

Boundaries of this region are hard to distinguish, with the Sahara desert a distinct
characteristic, which heavily influences Music. Noticeable Islamic/Arabic influence
Lyres many found in Nile River, Ethiopia, and with Southwestern Tribes
Ud 4 to 6 pairs of strings, made from gut or wire, mostly seen in Tunisia
Fiddles also seen in North Africa the most common being the rbab, similar to the
Iranian fiddle called the Rebab- spike fiddle

North Africa Cont.

Fiddles also seen in
North Africa
the most common being the
rbab, similar to the Iranian
fiddle called the
Rebab- spike fiddle
Fiddle-like instrument

 The Bow- lute of the bateke, single most Popular plucked instrument in congo
Bow Harp most widely used harp in congo, varies from 1 (fang of gabon)-10
strings (isongo of mbaka )
Other harps:

the ngombi, 10 stringed bow harp

the Wombi, eight stringed bow harp used to heal the sickly

These harps act simultaneously as percussion instruments , strings are

plucked along with the tapping of the rhythm through the sound box
Harp Zither, found in S. Cameroon, Congo Brazziville, with soundbox and half
calabash
Another version of harp zither seen with pygmies with no sound box

Typical African Harp

Congo Cont.
Zithers also seen but sparingly, a mainstay of Madagascar
Musical Bows: Valga of the Congo popular musical bow
Has a flat body of wood with a tin rattle attached to the board
to accentuate the sound, a string stretched from the top to
bottom of the board

 Bow Harps common, traces of musical culture link sudan area and
Great Lakes

Fiddles and lyres also seen

Drums are main instrument in

Sudan Region, along
with Kordofan

Sudan Area cont.

Kissars seen: can be gruesome-like instruments. In past, was made
of enemies skulls, which were used as resonating chambers
Usually made of calabash, wooden
bowls, or turtle shells which is
covered with animal hides

 Stringed Instruments take secondary role in music of Guinea Coast

area to the drum
Heavily influenced by Islamic tradition
Predominant stringed instrument in this region is the Harp
bala, a vertical harp similar to the koro, which is played by the Susu
toa, a forked harp
bolindo, an arched harp similar to the simbi played in Mali.
The ardin of Mauritania: popular bow harp with a neck that rests upon
the players body, while plucking the strings close to the
characteristic small pegs at the top of the bridge

Guinea Cont.
One of the more popular Stringed instruments, The Kora, consists of a
sound box large bridge, and 21 strings. Also called a Seron
Popularized by many performers and griots, one notable being Konde
Kuyate, a famous African female griot