International Journal of Science Arts and Commerce Vol. 2 No.

9, November-2017

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
SCIENCE ARTS AND COMMERCE

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FAUNA AND FLORA IN THE

PRODUCTION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN AFRICA
CHARLES NYAKITI ORAWO
MUSIC AND DANCE DEPARTMENT
KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
NAIROBI. KENYA.

ABSTRACT
With the coming of history origin of musical instruments stopped being attributed to the gods and heroes
(Sachs, 1977). Speculatively, man “was quite unaware, as he stamped the ground or slapped his body,
that such actions were seeds of the earliest instruments. It is important to acknowledge that the first
source of musical materials came from man’s body. Later, instruments were made from materials got
from their immediate environment. They chose from hard wood with sonorous sounds. The use of
natural materials in traditional ceremonies and rituals is observed in almost all the communities of
Africa. Calabash fruits were used as resonators. River reeds, bamboo and woods with natural holes
were used to make special flutes and panpipes. Papyrus provided materials for tuning knobs instead of
wooden pegs. Sorghum and elephant grass stalks were used in making zithers and shakers. The making
of metal tools helped change the communities’ worldview and improvement of musical instruments
making. The importance of music and musical instruments in the lives of the natives of cannot be
overemphasized as the two play quite a significant role. It should be noted that not all the inhabitants of
Continent are musicians! Performing on the musical instruments is an integral part of the communities’
belief system, which varies from one community to another. Songs entertain during festivals and
ceremonies, but rituals teach and give guidance to the community. Not all players of musical
instruments make the instruments. Performance of such instruments shows a commitment to the musical
event and the gods. An example being that of the Akan drums which are not objects of worship, yet have
to receive libations and carry prohibitions because they are repositories of spirit of Tweneboa Kodua

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and carry with them associations with ancestor drummers. Some of the instruments like pestles and
mortars play double roles. Xylophones as tuned idiophones have varied number of slabs. Music like
language is community specific but the use of animals and plants materials in making the instruments
cuts across all the communities in Africa. It is therefore correct to note that plants and animal sources
from which musical instruments were made had great significance to the natives. The animals and
plants were traditionally protected, hence, resulting into prayers being performed whenever animals
and trees were killed or cut respectively. In summary, the Africans were aware of their ecology, hence,
did all they could to protect the environment!

Keywords: Speculatively, earliest instrument, immediate environment, natural holes, sonorous sound,
belief system, community specific, traditionally protected, ecology

Introduction
Africa’s pre-history is full of mythical origin of musical instruments among her communities. With the
coming of history origin of musical instruments is no longer attributed to the gods and heroes (Curt
Sachs, 1940 rep 1977:25). This did not stop scholars’ inquisitive minds from trying to establish which
of the musical instruments were first to be invented! I agree with Sachs that the earliest man “was quite
unaware, as he stamped the ground or slapped his body, that his actions were the seeds of the earliest
instruments. Therefore, it is logical to observe that no early instrument was invented!

Before we talk about the natural materials man used from his natural environment to make music, we
need to note that the main source of musical materials came from his body. As man moved (that is stood
up, stretched his body, walked, ran or carried out other manly activities), such activities were rhythmic,
hence, they emitted sound! The same could be said of a hunter running after a wounded animal still
holding to weapons. The hunter would not be running at the same speed. During the time, the wooden
bow and the arrows would be hitting each other resulting into a very pleasant experience (music of the
hunter’s bow). From this experience, the hunter might decide to play the bow’s string by hitting it with
the stick of the arrow; at times, fix a gourd on the wooden bow to be a resonator or modify the
instrument to suite his aesthetics.

Material from Natural Environment

People made instruments from materials they got from their immediate environments, some of which
became multi-purpose. One of the materials used was the wooden sticks. The sticks chosen were of
hard wood trees with sonorous sound. Examples of wooden sticks used were those used for making the
hunter’s bow; the Abaluhya ebisalaa of the lipala ensemble; the Midzi Chenda upatsu made of a
metal plate which is rhythmically hit by two short wooden sticks as part of the Sengenya ensemble; a
staff (around whose base a set of jingle bells are tied), is rhythmically stamped on the ground to
accompany the Luo thum, this was before the jingle bells were transferred to the legs as leg bells; the
Dawida musi-kilingo rhythmically played as Kishavi ensemble (musi is a short wooden stick used in
hitting kilingo a long wooden staff and the Dawida kitiri-mlingo (kitiri is a long wooden staff vertically
used to rhythmically hit mlingo, a flat wooden block; and the Ababukusu chimbengele, a two pair of
two small wooden sticks are used to rhythmically hit a wooden block in the litungu ensemble; in a big

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wooden slit drum, two short wooden sticks are rhythmically used to hit the two slits of the drum;. In
the dele mixed dance of the Chonyi, a Midzi Chenda community, women dancers throw, catch and
stamp bamboo staves on the ground as they dance in a semi-circular line around their male partners who
dance by stamping their legs around which mango fruit rattles are tied.

The use of natural materials in the making of musical instruments used in traditional ceremonies and
rituals is observed almost in all the communities in Africa. The communities who live by the rivers
where reeds grow or near the forests where bamboo plants grow use both the materials to make musical
instruments such as flutes and bridges of their musical instruments, especially the lyres and fiddles. The
calabash plant, also another natural material grows in areas where climate is favorable. Calabash fruits
which are of different sizes generally have multipurpose usage. In music, for example, calabash fruits
are used as resonators of musical bows; as resonators of xylophones; as gourd rattles and as bells of
modified or extended horns and trumpets. At times river reeds, bamboo and hollow wood are used to
make special flutes such as panpipes, the Fulani flute, Burundi flute and other wooden flutes.

Similarly, the people who live near river banks or swampy environments make use of the materials that
grow in and around the area, for example those who live along the rivers where river-reeds grow to
make their musical instruments. Since river reeds have natural holes and are quite sonorous, they
provides an appropriate raw material for flute making and the same applies to bamboo. In areas where
papyrus grows, the people use papyrus materials to make tuning knobs for lyres instead of wooden pegs.
Farmers who grow sorghum use its stalks to make zithers, and those who live in grassland areas also use
elephant grass stalks to make kayamba.

Those who live around the forests where there are big trees and following the discovery of minerals and
the making metal tools used in the cutting and carving of logs of wood to make shells for resonators of
drums led to the development of small and big wooden drums and xylophones of various types and
sizes. The inhabitants of the continent were enabled to carve logs of huge trees into shells of fiddles
and drum resonators. Thanks to the discovery of minerals that led to the making of metal tools which
helped in the art of carving, that helped change the worldview and so the improvement on the type of
musical instruments made by the African people.

Early in the history of the continent, the materials that were used in making of musical instruments were
limited to what nature gave the inhabitants. These were in the form of wood, gourds, plant seeds, plant
stalks and leaves, tortoise carapace, animal horns, animal skins, and elephant tusks to mention but a few.
Later improvements, especially those brought by the discovery of minerals expanded the horizon leading
into the manufacture of bigger and more beautifully decorated instruments of the time. There were times
when materials with natural bores and of soft wood were those used in making the musical instruments
but as metal tools came into being, more and more natives ventured in the improvement in the making of
musical instruments that they had. One such instrument is the mbira of the Zezuru (Shona of
Zimbabwe). The discovery of iron and copper in Hwedza Mountains stopped the Zezuru (a sub-
community of the Shona of Zimbabwe) from further migration. They settled around these mountains

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extracting copper and iron which they traded in, as well as using the minerals to make hoes, spears, axes
and more importantly keys for their religious instrument, mbira (Matire, 2008:2).

The Spirit Ownership to Musical Instruments

“With over 800 million people who speak an estimated 1000 distinct languages; covering a vast
geographical area, with peoples whose particular histories are complex ‘African Music’ defies a
simplistic description” (Carver, 2012:11). Accompanying such peculiar historical complex is the belief
that most outstanding musical instruments in the continent have been handed over to the mythical
ancestors of the communities by the gods. A case in point is thum, the Luo lyre. According to the Luo
tradition, thum is believed to have been handed over to Ramogi, the undisputed Luo ancestor by the
gods (Nyakiti, 2013:45). Omondi (1980:52) observes that “thum existed in a large size, more or less
similar to Obokano of the Abagusii of Kenya (Hyslop, 1975).. Although the size of thum has changed,
the Style of its construction and playing remains the same.” Before this period (Omondi, ibid.) the
resonator of thum was fashioned from the carapace of a tortoise.

Plate 1: i) Abagusii Obokano player ii) Original Luo Thum player ii) Modern Luo thum player
Nketia 1975:106 ( the researcher)

Materials for Making the Luo thum

The making of thum involves the cutting and carving of a big murembe tree into a bowl to which a skin
membrane is nailed. Two arms made from siala tree was fixed to a slightly curved cross bar also made
from the siala tree. Puch, a set of eight strings made of cattle tendons run from a hole at the back
through the membrane passes over osat, a bridge made up of a set of river reeds held together by odok,
two lamps of bee wax; to be fixed to the tuning knobs tied around a curved crossbar. The tree from
which thum resonator is carved orembe has ritualistic significance such as the administration of oaths
and curses; which parallels the significance of thum in the society.

The use of carapace of tortoise, togo, papyrus and wetland shrubs in the making of musical
instruments also demonstrates the community’s closeness to the wetlands during their migration “from
Southern Sudan along the White Nile, the Bahr–el Ghazal and adjacent wetlands through Uganda into
Kenya and North Western Tanzania” (Ogot, 2009:10).

Importance of Musical Instruments

The importance of music in the lives of the people of the continent cannot be overemphasized. Music
plays a significant role in the lives of the people of the Continent. Rituals and celebrations that mark the
life cycle of the people of Africa would not take place without music. All the rites of passage for
members of the communities are pegged on music. This by extension shows how important musical

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instruments are to the people of Africa. During birth, naming, marriage, funeral ceremonies and other
ceremonies in the community music plays quite a significant role. In almost all these rituals and
ceremonies musical instruments is key to the success of the occasion. Music is made by individuals and
groups during private and social gatherings. Like other sister continents of the world, the people of
Africa value and consume music that is professionally created and produced. Hence, the 1000
communities that inhabit the continent have professional musicians who are charged with the
responsibility to create and perform what their consumers consider quality. In other words, not all
members in the Continent are musicians if by that we mean “professional music makers” and not
“consumers”!

Performing and Making of Musical Instruments

The performing and making of musical instruments in the Continent is an integral part of the
communities’ belief system. This varies not only from one community to another but also from one
village to another depending on the socio-cultural environmental conditions at play. Traditional music
like other forms of Art in the continent permeates the community’s life and has a function and a role to
play in the community. As already been noted, ”songs are used for religious ceremonies and rituals, to
teach and give guidance, to tell stories, to mark stages of life and death and to provide political
guidance or express discontent”(P.7). Songs are also used to entertain during ceremonies, and festivals.
It should also be noted that not all the persons who play the musical instruments in their solo or
ensemble capacities are the makers of such instruments. Once in a while, some of them could be makers
of the instruments. Hard and durable materials are the ones commonly used in the making of
instruments. Some of the materials used in making the instruments are usually ritualistically held in the
minds of those the instruments would be performed. It therefore would not be strange to see
instrumental makers perform a sacrifice and a prayer to the plant or the tree before it is cut. This is
because such plants and trees are held to be having high spirits. The makers and players of musical
instruments are also held to have the same spiritual status. Performance of such musical instruments
shows a commitment to the musical event and the gods who are considered the owners of the
instruments. Environmental changes have a lot of influence on both the makers and consumers the
music. Instruments are made from available materials

String Instruments
String instruments used in the continent are the hunter’s bows, harps, lyres, lutes and one or two string
fiddles. The plates below are examples of the hunters’ bows, harps and a lute.

Plate 2 :i) Xhosa Uhadi bow ii)Musical bow iii) Musial Bow

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Plate 3: i) Kora a harp ii) Adungu Harp VI) An Orutu player

http://www.google.com/url?=http:// moa.wfu.ed/2012/04/shakeRattle “Permalink to Orutu”
graphic.nobody.jp/irom/ -TeacherGuide pdf :15

Instruments made of wood

Instruments made from wood range from sticks got from tree branches to provide both the sounds and
rhythmic patterns during performances. The sticks may be short ones, hit against one another or used to
strike other instruments such as drums, slit drums and xylophones during performance; long staff are
used to rhythmically stamp the ground or other instruments placed on the ground. Examples are the
Kishavi dance-musi-mlingo short sticks (plate 3: ii), and; mlingo-kitiri, long sticks (plate 3:iii) both are
from the Dawida of Kenya; chembengele of the Ababukusu of Kenya (see plate 3:i) and Dele, a hollow
bamboo staff stamped by Chonyi women dancers
.

Plate 4 (i) Litungu and Chembengele ii) Kishavi ensemble of Musi-Kilingo iii) Kishavi Mgange hitting mlingo
ensemble with (Simiyu,2017) (Researcher, 2011:147) with kitiri (Researcher, 2011:142)

These instruments produce muffled sounds when rhythmically hit or stamped to accompany dancers.
Other instruments that are played by being hit with wooden sticks are the huge slit drum (plate 4:i),
wooden slit gong ( plate 4:ii) and opatsu in the Sengenya drum ensemble (plate 8:vii). Huge slit drum
(plate 4:i) played with sticks are performed by those who live or border great forest of the Congo River
basin where wood is plenty but skins from large animals for drum heads are few. The use of flutes such
as the Ganda ndere the Congo Nyamulera and the Luo asili are common in places where river reeds
and/or bamboo grow.

Plate 5:i) Slit drum performer Congo ii) Wooden slit gong
(Carver, 2012:47) TeacherGuide pdf :9
-

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Apart from thum, which claims an ancestral origin to Ramogi, the Luo also play instrument such as poko
or ajawa, gourd rattles (plate 5:i) and bul, drums (plate 8:i), and quite a number of other instruments
such as Nyabondo tiang’, sorghum stalk zither (plate 10:i).

Ajawa/Poko Gourd Shakers and the Luo belief in Ancestral Spirits

Poko (5:i) and bul are played by members of the community possessed by juogi spirits. Juogi is a term
derived from the Luo word juok/jok, god. Juogi therefore is the Luo ancestral possessing spirits
through which wishes of the Luo ancestors are conveyed to members of the community. Juogi
practices are designed to court the spirits’ favour, both for protection and to avoid the consequences of
their displeasure. For a Luo, life is never safe and with an everlasting fear of both the natural and
supernatural phenomena there is need for protection. Juogi ancestral spiritual cult therefore came to be
as a result of the respect/fear the community has for the spirits of dead ancestors. Such respect/fear for
the spirit of the dead is a fundamental sanction in which the Luo world view acknowledges that the
power of a man does not end with death. This is because the Luo consider the dead as the integral part of
life endowed with both the power to bless and/or haunt their living descendants! The juogi ancestral
cult adherents use both poko and ajawa alone a long side the playing of drums, dancing, singing and
manyasi, herbs during their services.

Plate:6: i) An Ajawa or Poko Player ii) A gourd shaker

( Researcher, 2011) ( Nketia 19757)

The Spirit of the Akan Drum

The attitude of the Akan people about their drums is complex as it is derived from their attitude to nature
(Nketia,1957), that is, the ‘materials’ from which tehe parts of the drum are
assembled…”(Nketia,1963:16). The Akan drums are not objects of worship, but “have to receive
libations and carry prohibitions because they are repositories of the spirit of Tweneboa Kodua and carry
with them associations with ancestor drummers” (Nketia, 1963:ibid.).

The Trees Used in Making the Akan Drums

The wood commonly used in carving the Akan drums is the tweneboa or tweneduo. Nketia (ibid.:5)
notes that “in old days a sacrifice of an egg was made to the tree and prayers for protection from harm
were said before the tree was cut down for the Akan held the it to be a tree with a powerful spirit.” The
Akan tradition has it that “even when such a tree has been cut down and its wood has been used, the
finished drum is still identified with the spirit of the wood. Drummers, especially those of the courts and
warriors usually begin their performances with invocations to the spirit of the wood for protection. All
the Akan drums are held in a particular esteem by their users.

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The Dawida Kishavi and Mwazindika Dances

The Dawida Kishavi dance uses mlingo and kitiri. Kitiri (traditionally made from msorongo cactus tree
that grows locally in the hills. Kitiri is a heavy piece of wood or an improvised bench placed on the
ground. Mlingo also known as yiti or mwangoni is a long stick made from ngidi tree which also grows
locally in the area. The heavy piece of wood or bench (kitiri) must be long enough to accommodate four
players. The tradition has it that mlingo should not be taller than the user. Another musical instrument
used in Kishavi performance is marangi. It is made of bamboo and is shorter and much thicker than
mlingo. It is played by a lady; since it is decorated with njuga, it provides varieties of purcussive
accompaniments to the dancers (Nyakiti, 2011). The Dawida ausually make their mwazindika drums:
simba mbaa, simba ndogo and kingele from a tree known as mlungu which shares its name with the
Dawida god. The Dawida whistle, filimbo which is played in both Kishavi and mwazindika dances is
also made of wood.

Plate 7 : i) A set of Luo drums ii) Donno http://www.google.com/url?= iii) Djembe: http://www.google. com/url?=
(Researcher,2011) http:// priscillarproject.webebly.com http:/ priscillarproject.webebly.co

iv) Tanzanian Hand drum v) Atumpan drums of the Akan

( Nketia 1975:88) of Ghana (Nketia 1975:89)

vi) Sengenya Drum ensemble- Midzi Chenda vii) Shona drummers-Zimbabwe viii) Mwazindika drum ensemble –Dawida
Kenya (Nketia, 1975:90) –Yoruba (Murray ,1981:94 Kenya (Nyakiti, 2011:149)

The Luo Drums

The Luo drums were made of wood carved from murembe (or orembe) a big tree that grows in the
territory. The traditional Luo drumset resembles the Ganda drums. This is because the history of the two
communities has it that “Buganda is the fourth Luo Kingdom Labong’o (a Luo King) created is the
Buganda kingdom of Uganda” (Alenyo, 2009:59). The history continues to state that the “Buganda is a
Bantu Kingdom but their royal clans are the Luo Jobito to this day”(Alenyo,ibid.). This in away explains
the similarities between the two sets of drums.
The drum shells for their resonators were made of wood from the big trees that abound the territories.
Some of the drums were double headed while others were footed with only single heads. The drums

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needed skins attached to the heads. The sources for the skins needed for the drum heads came from the
many animals rared at home or those game animals they hunted for their meat.

Use of Animal Skins in Musical Instruments

The Ababukusu require goat’s skin for the membrane used for litungu resonator ; the skin from the head
of cattle for the Luo thum and for orutu, the skin of a monitor lizard came handy. The Abaluhya used
the skin of a monitor lizard for their Ishiriri (fiddle); ingalaphe, a single headed drum and ishikuti, a sets
of 3 drums. The Abaluhya double headed drum, ingoma needs cattle skin for its heads and the Dawida
also needs cattle skin to peg on heads of their single headed footed drums. The Midzi Chenda use both
the goat’s and cattle’s skins for their various footed and bouble headed drums (Mabumbumbu, chirima,
gandu and chapuo). The Abagusii need cattle skin for their obokano.

The Pestle and Mortar

Some of the instruments play double roles. A good example is that of pestles and mortars. The
communities that use such instruments carve the mortars from hard wood that would not wear out easily.
Some communities also have ritualistic bearings on the instrument; therefore, the making of such
instruments are usually accompanied with rituals and ceremonies.

Plate 8: i) Women pounding maize

meal Zambia (Carver,2012:14)

Nyabondo Tiang’, the Luo Zither

The Luo are peasant farmers who grow bel, sorghum; kal, millet;, oduma, maize and other short term
farm produce for their subsistence in addition to keeping domestic animals and poetry. During the main
agricultural season, which is a long rainy season, sorghum does well and with the plenty sorghum stalks,
the youth, especially the male ones take the opportunity to make, play and enjoy the music that the
Season has enabled them to create on their trough zithers

Plate 9)) Nyabondo tiang’ a Luo trough Zither

The Ganda Amadinda-Xylophone

The use of available natural materials in making musical instruments has enabled rulers - chiefs and
kings to authorize their musicians and poets to recount genealogies and legends of their kingdoms. For

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example, the Ganda king, Kabaka had in his court a flute ensemble, xylophone players, drummers and a
royal harpist (Carver, 2012).

Plate 10:) Amadinda bars laid on banana stems-

Types of Xylophones in Africa
According to Nketia (1975:81) xylophone, a tuned idiophone played in many parts of Africa seems to be
in three forms as the graduated series of wooden slabs…mounted over a resonance chamber…These he
groups as pit and box xylophones; second, as ones with keys laid over two pieces of banana stems
and kept in position by sticks affixed to the stem between the keys and third as those with keys mounted
over a wooden frame, below which a number of gourd resonators are suspended graded in size in
relation to the pitches of the wooden slabs. The number of slabs used in each xylophone varies.

Plate 11i) Chopi timbila xylophone- iv) A frame xylophone of 14 keys

Mozmbique (Carver, with gourd Res onators
2012:78) (Nketia, 1975:80)

Wind Instruments, Flutes, Horns and Trumpets

A few wind instruments such as Odurugya, end blown flute and atenteben, bamboo pipes are not as
popular as the drums which are corporately used in social dances or as drums of shrines or those of a
chief. The Luo make their wind instruments from river reeds that grow in the territory. The Dawida
make Chivoti, nzumari and bung’o from the bamboo that abundantly grow in their territory. The
Abaluhya make their lirere from the river reeds that grow in their territory. The use of pan pipes,
wooden flutes made from materials with natural holes is not unique to communities in Africa, examples
being those of the Fulani flutes, Burundi flutes, Nyamulera flutes from the Congos, the Pokot wooden
flutes, and the Nyanga Pin pipes.

Plate 12: i) Oding, a transverse ii) Panpipe player –accompanying iii)Nyamulera flute-Congo
Flute- Southern Cameroon himself with a rattle-Zimbabwe

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iv) Panpipe v) Fulani flute vi) Burundi flute vii) Wooden flutes viii) Wooden flutes

The horns and trumpets were made from the natural horns of both wild animals such as the kudu and
domesticated animals such as cattle, goats .

Plate 13:i) Trumpets made from elephant tusks ii) Permalink to Bigwala iii) Kudu horns Animal horns are played

iv) Lungo shakers v) Shakers manufactured from leaves vi) Ago, a afafa and tochng of 2 pails
Permalink to Lungo moa.wfu.ed/2012/04/shakeRattle of water with 2 calabashes floated & hit

The Zezuru belief

The Zezuru belief that their late relatives continue to live with them as mhepo yevadzimu, the spirit of
the ancestors who look after them (the Zezuru) by providing rain for mukwerera, farming; kurapa,
healing the sick; ngozi, protecting the populace from all sorts of evil spirits which bring misfortune or
death in families; and helping in kukadza mambo, identifying successors to chieftainships in their
territory. Traditionally, mudzimu, the family ancestral spirits looks after the welfare of the family while
mhondoro and makombe take care of the whole clan (Gelfand, 1987). The Zezuru believe that vadzimu
connect them to Mwari. Whenever a family wants to communicate with Mwari, they organize a bira
ceremony. A spirit medium of the family gets possessed with the spirit of an ancestor who will then talk
directly with the family members. The spirit medium is chosen by the spirit to become its host. Such
hosts are members of the family who proves to be honest, respectful, polite, forgiving, spiritually clean,
one who is free from promiscuity and one who is polite and humble. Through Mwari vital force is
passed on to the spirit of the dead giving them power to heal, provide rain, foretell future events,
increase talent in a living being, protect the living, communicate with Mwari Himself and possess a
living being. This happens when the spirit medium has been evoked by mbira music during a bira
ceremony. From the look of things the bira ceremony greatly depends on the environment! It is no

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secret that the ceremony is indebted to the instrument Mbira which is made of gwariva, a wooden
soundboard; mbiras, some metal keys mounted on mutanda, a crossbar and a danhiko bridge. The
soundboard is made from wood of mubvamaropa and mufenje trees and the metal keys are made from
any high carbon wire used for making nails. All these are available in the territory. Mbira to the Zezuru
includes the instrument, its keys, the songs performed as the instrument is played and the dance styles.
There are several types of mbira distinguished by their origin, function, shape and size (a number of
keys). Some mbira use calabash to resonate their soft sounds. What is significant here is the tree from
which the sound board is made.

Plate 14 : Parts of the mbira

(Matiure, 2008:21)

Conclusion
It is not strange to highlight the significance of fauna/flora in the making of musical instrument in the
continent. Music like language is community specific. With over a thousand communities in the
continent it is difficult to talk of African music in terms of musical instruments.

We all acknowledge the diversity that exists in the continent yet the usage of plants and animals as
source of the materials used in making musical instruments cuts across all of them. It is reasonable to
acknowledge the diversity in the types of musical instruments used in the continent; on the same note to
try to place one instrument as the main ones used in the musics in the continent would be misplaced.
Drums are found to be used almost all over the continent but communities like the Maasai of both Kenya
and Tanzania do not have drums; yet have horns they get from their herds of cattle and horned wild
animals that graze in the territory. They also use sticks which they always carry along with them.

It is important to note that most of the musical instruments in the continent play extra musical roles and
have unique attachment to the existence of the communities that make, perform and own them. This
extra-musical role starts with the materials from which the instruments are made and extends to the role
the instrument plays in the community. An example is that of the Akan drums which are not objects of
worship, but “have to receive libations and carry prohibitions because they are repositories of the spirit

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of Tweneboa Kodua and carry with them associations with ancestor drummers. Another example is that
of the Zezuru who belief that mhepo yevadzimu, the spirit of the ancestors look after the welfare of the
family. This happens when the spirit medium has been evoked by mbira music during a bira ceremony.
From the look of things the bira ceremony greatly depends on the ceremony which is indebted to the
instrument mbira which is made of gwariva, a wooden soundboard made from wood of mubvamaropa
and mufenje trees.

It is not farfetched to observe that the sources from which all the materials musical instruments were
made in the Continent, be they from fauna or from flora, were of great significance to the existence of
the communities. The animals from which the horns, skins and tendons; the materials used in making
musical instruments were highly valued by the communities. The plants, whether elephant grass, river
reeds, papyrus, bamboo or the trees of various sizes, were highly valued by the communities. Such
animals and plants were understandably protected by members of the community as their livelihood
depended on them. Any contrary behaviour that endangered the existence of the animals and plants in
the territory led to the wrath of ancestors, resulting into epidemics, drought and other forms negative
consequences befalling the whole community. These are some of the reasons why prayers were
performed when animals and trees were respectively killed or cut. In summary, the African was aware of
the ecology, hence, did all that they could to protect their environment.

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A SHORT RESUME:

Charles Nyakiti Orawo, Professor of African Music and Ethnomusicology in the

Department of Music and Dance, Kenyatta University, Nairobi (Kenya); born in
1947 and holds a Ph.D. (The Queen’s University of Belfast) in Ethnomusicology and
is one of the last students of the late Professor John Blacking. He is an
ethnomusicologist, supported with extensive field research experiences in Music
traditions of Africa; has organized and participated in many International
Conferences and Symposiums both locally and worldwide. Prof. Nyakiti has
authored ten books on the music traditions of Kenyan communities; contributed
chapters and articles to books and renowned International Journals.

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