Reuster Jahn The Mwera Lamellophone Luliimba

7/28/2019 Reuster Jahn The Mwera Lamellophone Luliimba

1/16

The Mwera Lamellophone "Luliimba"

Author(s): Uta Reuster-JahnSource: African Music, Vol. 8, No. 1 (2007), pp. 6-20Published by: International Library of African MusicStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30249996 .

Accessed: 17/06/2013 11:05

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

International Library of African Music is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to

African Music.

http://www.jstor.org
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ilamhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/30249996?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/30249996?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ilam


2/16

6 JOURNALF NTERNATIONALIBRARYFAFRICANUSICTHE MWERA LAMELLOPHONE LULIIMBA1

byUTA REUSTER-JAHN

IntroductionThe lamellophoneftheMakonde/Mweraypefromouth-easternanzania ndnorth-easternozambique s a particular ember f thefamily f lamellophonesnAfrica. t has beendescribed y Margot ias (1982, 1986,1988)and Gerhard ubik(1996, 1998),butuntil ecentlyad notbeen studiedna performanceontext.tspar-ticular eatures re as follows:1) the sevenrelativelyroadmetalkeysare fixed nthebodyof the nstrument,o that heiruningannot e altered; ) the oppart f theinstrumentas a roof-likehape;3) the esonatorox s hollowed utfromheback andclosed with wooden overwhich s nailed oit.Additionally,he ound-holesnthesoundboardouldbe usedtoproducewow-effectsy coveringnduncoveringhem,shas been shown yKubik 1998:195).2Thistype f amellophoneas drawn cholarlynterestecauseof tsuniqueness.Kubik ssumes hattcouldbe the emnantf small radle reaof amellophones ithmetalkeys nthe owerRovuma alley, part rom he argemetal-keyedamellophonesfoundn Zimbabwe nd the owerZambezivalley Kubik1998:24f). Furthermore,Kubik et al. point o a similarityf shapebetween ndonesianmetallophonesfthesarontype nd theMakonde/Mweraype f amellophone,nterms fthe urved oxresonatorndtheroof-likeopofthe nstrumentsKubik t al. 1985-87, ee also Kubik1998:42, 196 f).Theposition f themetalkeyscan be seen as rotatedy900 com-pared o the aron.Thiscouldpossibly e supportivefArthur . Jones' ypothesisnIndonsesianylophones eing hemodelforAfricanamellophones1973/74:96 ),aswell as ofhisassumptionf culturalnfluencesromndonesia nAfrica1964).RogerBlench 1982) showed hat he atter oesnot tand pto detailed crutiny.owever,headmits hat he trikingimilarityetween ylophonesnAsiaandAfrica eeds o beexplained,nd hepoints othepossibilityhat hemigrationfxylophonesouldhavebeen ntheopposite irection,.e. from frica oAsia (Blench 002:4f). tseems hatthis ebates notyet losed ndthat erhapsheMakonde/Mwera-typef amellophonecouldprovide particularink nthemusical istoryfEastAfrica.Despitethe nterestingeatures f this ype f nstrumentittles known bout t.

Iwish o hankrof. erhardubik or iscussingy esearchithme, s well scommentingn draftersionof his aper. lso, wouldike o hankhe layersnd wnersf amellophonesor heirollaboration,ndmy riendsinNachingweaormakinghe ontact ith hemusicians.2 However,heMweralayersf heuliimbahom observedlayingidnot se he oles n his ay seePlayingtechniquenpages 2 nd 3).

This content downloaded from 128.109.48.3 on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:05:20 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/16

THE MWERALAMELLOPHONE LULIMBA 7Dias has described he nstrumentsnher ollection nd thosefrom arious uropeanmuseums,whichweremostly ollected eforeWorldWar I. She coined the name"Makonde/Mweraype fthe amellophone",s all instrumentsere ollectednareasinhabitedyeitherMakonde rMwera.However, othing as documentedbout heuse of he nstrumentor bout hemusic layed n t.Thiswas all themore eplored yscholars s itwas assumed hat he nstrumentasalreadyxtinctKubik1998:195f).This article s based on research onductedn the Mwera area of south-easternTanzania,more pecifically,nvillages fNachingwea istrictntheLindiregion,n1987 and 1999.3 n 1987,friends f minefromNachingwea rranged visit o twowell-knownuliimbamusicians,neinthevillageofKipara, heothernLionja.Bothwere lderlymen ndvery killed layers. recordedomepiecesfromoth nd tookfewphotographs.t the ime fmy econdvisit n1999 themusician rom ionjahadrecentlyiedandtheone nKipara ouldnotbe contacted.nthe ase ofthemusicianfrom ionja,his sonhad taken ver he nstrument.had the pportunityo talk o himand record isplaying n video.The effortsofind thermusicianswereonlypartlysuccessful. wo more wners fa luliimbaamellophone ere ound ndvisited,ne nRuponda,heothernNtila.Bothwereold men.One of them ad nheritedhe nstru-ment ut ouldnot lay t,while he ther ouldplay, uthadnot sedhis uliimbaftenduringhe astyears. heproblemnfindinglayersf uliimba ointsothe act hat heinstruments about odisappear,n mpressionhared ythepeople nthe rea.Name, istorynd recent seof he nstrumentTheMwera alltheiramellophoneuliimbaclass 11 ntheBantunoun lasssys-tem) nthe ingular,nd nniimbaclass 10) intheplural. ometimesmalimbaclass6)is heardntheplural.Apparently,here s nooraltraditiononcerningheorigin ftheinstrument.t s ustsaidto havealways eenthere. hismay ndicate hat he uliimbahas a very ongtraditionmong heMwera. t is theonly ype flamellophoneheyhave.Everybodynows bout tbut hemusicians, ho aremainly ldmen, reveryfewnowadays. s inother arts fAfrica he nstrument'sse has beendecliningincethemiddle fthe20thentury.t themomentheresnosign hat hismusical raditioncouldbe revived. his s due tothe ncreasingse oftheguitar yyoungereopleandthe nfluencefpopmusic.The latter omes nvia radio, assettes,nd video.Someyoungmen ngagenthebusiness f howing ideos nvillages. hey ringheirquip-ment,ncluding generatoror he upply felectricity.hemost ttractiveenres resportsndmusic ideos.Organologyf heuliimbaThebody fthe uliimbas madefrom hehard ndreddish-browntumbati-wood(Pterocarpusngolensis).t is carved rom nepieceof wood. Thetoppart r "head"of the uliimbas solidand so is thepart f thebodywhere hekeys re nserted. he3 The main ocus fmy esearch as on the ratureftheMwera Reuster-Jahn002).



4/16

8 JOURNALF NTERNATIONALIBRARY FAFRICANMUSICresonatorox s hollowedut romhe ack. heback s then losed y covermadefromhe amewood,whichs nailed o he ody.ome nstrumentsave second overat he rontide f he oxresonator.he uliimbaas numberf ound oles. lltheinstrumentsstudied ave hree oles tthe rontide ndnoholes tthe ack nd heotherides.Atthemiddle f he pper artthe oundboard)heres a row f hreeofive oles,nd hreerfoururtheroles re rrangedelow hem. heholes reboredbyusing localdrillmpeu,mi-). hekeys remade romron y blacksmith.heirshapes shownnFigureb.Attheir roadestart heyrebentnanangle fabout700 nd nsertedownwardsnto he olid artf he ody.4hemusicianstressedhatthe eyshould ot rojectnto he ollow art,therwisehey ould ot ield goodsound. here realwayseven eys,heirverage idtheing lightlyessthan necentimetrend heirengtharyingetweenive nd even entimetres,ependingntheiritchnd he izeof he nstrument.wometalugs nthe ides f he nstrumentserve o fastencord or arryingt.Thebacks f hree ut f he ouramellophonesfromachingweaistrictre bit urved,ut ne s flat. he op art r head" f llthe nstrumentss more r essupright.'he ize ofthe nstrumentaries. heonesexaminednNachingwearebetween2and17cmwide ndbetween3 and27cmlong.6ome f he ox esonatorsave trapezoidalorm ith he road nd t he rontside.One nformantoldme hat isfatherad verymalluliimba,hich asabouthalf he izeof he ormalamellophones,ut edidnot nowwhytwas o small.The ournstrumentsromachingweaistrict hichhave tudiedre uiteimi-lar oeach ther ithegardotheirize nd hape. hey lsoresembleerymuchhelamellophonecquiredyMargotias fromMakondearvern1958Dias1982:162).Yet he ollectionf he thnologicaluseumnBerlinomprisesome nstrumentsfdifferentppearance.ome f hesenstrumentshich ere ollectedefore 914havea flat ead. henumbernd rrangementf he ound oles f omenstrumentss alsovery ifferentromhe ecent weraamellophones.hese ifferencesould e due oa changever ime r oregionalub-types.iaspointedothe acthat heMakonde/Mweraamellophonesre fhigh ualityndbeautynd hereforeequireigh arvingskill.Accordingomy nformantslamellophones manufacturedn cooperationbetweenhe arvernd blacksmith,homakes hekeys nd lsotunes hem. hedecorationsremade ythe arver,ut he wnersometimesddmore. ecorationsconsistmainlyf ines ndcrosses. nly ne nstrumentas notdecoratedt all.was told hat ecentlyheresonly nemannthe reawho s abletomanufacture4 This sdifferentromome ldernstrumentst he oelkerkundemuseumnBerlin,hosemetaleysre roadestat heirreendKubik 998:197-203).5 Thissnot lwayshe asewithheMakonde/Mweraypef amellophone.ut f ightamellophonesn he erlincollectionixhave flat ead art.6 In he erlinollection ostnstrumentsreongerabout0cm) ut arrowerabout 0 m).



5/16

THEMWERA AMELLOPHONELULIIMBA 9luliimba.e sablacksmithho lsodoes he arvingf he nstruments.nfortunately,I wasnot ble ogetncontact ith im.There remodificationsf henstruments,ccordingothe ndividualaste f heowner.hedeceaseduliimba-playerromionja ad ut uningaxntebe,7i-) n heback fhis nstrument.hiswasexplainedyhis on s a means o soften"r lower"the oice f heuliimbaSwahili: utulizaauti). hemusicianad lsoused buzzerto ncreasehe oundSwahili: upaza auti).t consistedf a string ith roundedpiece f brokenlay ot nd piece f ron. he tringadbeen astenedotheugsandwasput n op f he esonatoroxwhile laying.ependingnwhere eputt, heplayerould aryts ffect.hebuzzer adbeen emovedfterhe nstrumentaskeptby he eceasedmusician'son.

Figure .Tuningwax atthebackof uliimbafMzeeNakeru(photo yauthor,ionja, 1999).7 The etterrepresentshe oiced ilabialricative, xceptefore and fter ,wheret s realiseds b.



6/16

10 JOURNALOF INTERNATIONAL IBRARY OF AFRICAN MUSICMweranomenclature fthepartsofthe uliimbaPartof he nstrument Mwera erm LiteralmeaningToppart ntwe Pl.mitwe) headBack kungoongowa uliimba on thebackofthe uliimbaFront ide kucitaako wa uliimba onthebuttocksftheluliimbaCavity mbaanda cavitySound oles malaangaSg. ilaanga) hole; he oles re aid o etthe oundut f he nstru-ment.nformantsomparedthemo he oles nradio

loudspeakers.Keys meenoSg. liino) teethCarryingord lukobeeloPI.ngobeelo) carryingord

Theparts f the uliimba re named nanthropomorphicerms. he instrumentsperceiveds having head, eeth, back andbuttocks,evealing clear oncept ftopandbottom.lukobeelo

- ntwe

liino

kungoongokwa uliimba

kucitaakokwa uliimnbaFigurea.Schematicrawingf luliimba



7/16

THEMWERA AMELLOPHONEULIIMBA 11

insertioninebending ine

Figure b.Shapeof a keyThetuning ayout fthe uliimbaAluliimbaas evenmetal eyswhich re rrangedn he ormf V.The owestkeysinthemiddleseeFigure ).From his ey he caleproceedsna zig-zagway:4 > 3 > 5 > 2 > 6 > 1> 7. Thetuningayoutsfthe ouramellophonesstudiednNachingweaere ifferentseeFigure ), althoughwo ta timewere imilarlyuned(Figures.1. nd .2, nd .3and .4respectively).or llof hemhentervalsetweenthe eys and1and he eys and consist f n octaver t east earlynoctave.'The xistencef imilaruningayouts ightointo ocal ayout-pattern.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Figure .Arrangementfkeys luliimba fMzeeMaji yaMoto.(FortuningayouteeFigure .4 onpage 12)8 Thenotationf he ayoutsnpictureshall iven mpressionf he ntervalsetweenheounds,nd llow om-parisonetweenheuningf he ouramellophones.



8/16

12 JOURNALF NTERNATIONALIBRARY F AFRICANMUSICFigure .1.Tuning ayout: uliimba fMzee NakeruLionja)

Figure .2.Tuningayout: uliimba fMzeeMakwinyaRuponda)

Figure .3.Tuning ayout: uliimba fMzeeIsmail Kipara)

Figure .4.Tuning ayout: uliimba fMzeeMaji yaMoto Ntila)

Playing echniqueAllplayers trikehekeyswith heir humbs. herighthumblays hefour eysonthe ightndthe eft humbhe hree eys n the eft. here s nocrossingffingers.The ndex ingersreput nder he ateral eys ndstrikehese rom eneathFigure ).In theplaying echnique ome ndividual ariations an be observedwhichmaybe



9/16

THE MWERA AMELLOPHONEULIIMBA 13interpretedseffectsf he ecline f he rt fplaying. zee9smail romipara uthis eftndex ingerpon he eft eys s if ostop he ibrationFigure ).Oneplayersaid hathe ighthumbscallingnd he eftsresponding,ut thersnsistedhat hereisno eadingoice. didnot bservehathe oleswereoveredoproduceow-effects,a techniquesedn he layingf he ikembeypef amellophonecfKubik 998:63).My nformantsenied his seof he ound-holes.ccordingothem he oles reustoutletsor hevoice fthe uliimbaSw.yanasaidia utoaauti they elp o et hevoice ut"). heway fholdingheuliimbalso eems ohave hangedecently.zeeIsmail eld is uliimbaithnlyhe ing-fingerromelowwhile he theringersereput bove he esonatorox Figure ).However,he layerscould ctuallybserven1999 llheld heuliimbaithhreeingerselow ach ide. he uliimbaanbeplayedwhile tandingrwalking,ittingn chair r quattingn he round.

Figure . Luliimba f he ateMzee Nakeruplayed yhisson,Mr.KilianLijembu, romChimbendenga,achingwea istrict. otebuzzer ntopof resonatorable.Theheadhas beenbroken,riginallythad the ypicalroof-likehape photo yauthor,ionja,1999).

Figure . Mzee Ismail laying is uliimbanKipara(photoy uthor,ipara,987).

9 Mzeeoldman)sarespectfulay f ddressingldmenn wahili.



10/16

14 JOURNALF NTERNATIONALIBRARY F AFRICANMUSICContextsndoccasionsfperformanceThere re hree inds foccasions hen he uliimbasplayed: )whilewalking,2) as pastime, ) at a specialevent allednngomaa luliimba r ukanagwa luliimba("thenngoma'0f the uliimba" r "thebeerofthe uliimba"). uliimba layers sedtoplay heirnstrumenthilewalkingong istances.ntheirastimehey suallylayeditust oentertainhemselves.he pecial rgreatvent as he ngomajauliimbarukana wa uliimba,lmost evererformedowadays,utwhichs well ememberedbyolder eople.t was a public erformancehatasted hewhole ightntilhenextmorning.tseemshat his vent ad secularharacter,ndwasnot onnectedo nyritual r piritualontext.owever,tmust ave een oint enture hich emandedsome rganisationndcoordination.eoplebrewed eer ndbuilt liteteele,beerstand. neor everaluliimbalayers ere nvited.t s wellpossiblehat here as acompetitivelementresentn he erformancecf.GundersonBarz 000).Theplay-ersfastenedattleso theirnkles. hey layedhe uliimba,anced,nd ang. heywere ccompaniedythe mall rumingaangand hengwacala, hich onsistsftwo ambooogs r pestle, hichshitwith wo ticks.f heuliimbalayerould otsingwell, ingingasperformedy omeonelsewhowasknownsagood inger.heothererformancearticipantsang he horusndoinedn he ancing.

Figure .Mzee Nakeru's on'snngomaja uliimbansemble:uliimba,ingaanga, gwacala. ingerstandingn eft, gwacalabamboo ticks ngroundtrightphoto yauthor,ionja,1999).10 The ermngomanMweras inSwahili as broadmeaning.treferso musicalventsngeneral,ncludingsingingnd ancing.



11/16

THE MWERA LAMELLOPHONE LULIIMBA 15MzeeNakeru as famous usician howas nvitedypeople otheir estivitiesandwho rganisedtherst hisown ompound.uringmyvisit nLionja n 1999small ngomaa luliimba asorganisedorme n the ompoundf friendfmine,

duringhe ay. inceMzeeNakeru addied, is on,whohad nheritedis uliimba,came rom isvillageoplay heamellophone.ecause edidnot ing,n old friendofhisfatherang he ongsnddanced. cingaangadrum)nd ngwacalabamboosticks)ccompaniedhemusicFigure ). Thesongs fthe ateMzeeNakeru ereplayednd ung. his erformanceasrecordednvideo.ThemusiciansThe womusicians,zeeNakerundMzee smail, hom visitedn1987,werefamousor heirmusic. othwere ver 0years ld.Athirdlayer, zeeMakwinya,whom visitedn1999waseven lder nddidnot sehis uliimbatpublicventsnymore.Mzee smail rom iparawasa calmmanwith somewhat elancholicir.Thepieces eplayed ere oft ndhesang nlywo f hem. eplayednd ang olo, ndonly nepiecewas ccompaniedypercussion.hiswasprobablyue o he ecordingsituation,ut edidnot eemobeaman o ntertainargeudiences.he hemesfhispieces onsistedf commentn ax aying,prayeroGod, nd ongs n he elation-ship etweenusbandndwife,s follows:1) I'mchased y he olicewhenheyindmenot aving aid he ax.2) Godgive smaize, odgive ssorghum.3) Mywife,'mgoingn ourney.4) When come ome rom yourney,askmywifeocookugali"forme.Mzee Nakeru romionjawas a famousmusician. wastold wodifferenter-sions bout iscareer. isson old he ollowingtory:he uliimbafMzeeNakerubelongedohisfather,howasmarriednLionja. heyoung akeru sed oplayhisfather'snstrumentecretlyut nedayhewasdiscoveredyhismother.hetoldherhusbandbout hematter.edidnot cold is on ut ook im y urprisenotherime

when ewasplaying.ince ewaspleasedwith hemusic e llowed is on ouse heinstrument.ccordingothis nformanthe uliimba asmadenthe1950s.Anotherversionoldnthe illage oes ike his:MzeeNakeru'satherasnot playerf heluliimba.heyoung akeruikedhemusic nd bservedhemusicianshen laying.Onthose ccasions e even earnedoplayhimself.hen ehadtomanufactureisown uliimba.ecause ebecame amous,eopleiked o nvite imwhen erforminga nngoma.ewasnot playerf hexylophonemangubila). hen visited imnOctober 987,Mzee Nakeru layed he uliimbandsang.Unlike heother layers euseda buzzer,whichheputontopoftheresonatorable, nd hewas accompaniedy" A stifforridge adefrommaize-, orghum-rcassava-flour.



12/16

16 JOURNALFNTERNATIONALIBRARYFAFRICANUSICngwacala-percussion.urthermore,here as chorus,hichespondedohis ongs.twas veryivelyerformance.he hemesfhis ongswere:

1) Jumwanawajigala namweneapali pagona nng'unguWhy houldmy hildsleep eneathhe oof?).2) Ndemboja timboThe lephantfgreed).he ong ells he toryf huntingexpedition.hehuntersho hot he lephantidnot ive he therarticipantsa share ecausehey ere reedy.3) Asong romhe nitiationchool.4) Cikandengaabwi.A song bout orcerers.5) NgwetekanguPaimeneI have wife,her ames]Paimene). song bouta ealouswife.6) AnaNkuchika.song bout leader fformerimes,alledNkuchika.7) Ajetu akulya atandiOur riendats he ruitsf he ausage ree).

Figure . MzeeMakwinya laying uliimbaphoto yAuthor,uponda, 999).In 1999, visited zeeMakwinyan he illage fRuponda. ewasquite ld, swashis uliimba.tsheadhadbeenbrokenndrepairednd ermitesadboredheir

holesn t.MzeeMakwinya'singertipshere bit rippleduthestill layed icely(Figure ).Hedidnot ing. tthe nd fthe isit e even layedome ieces n the



13/16

THEMWERA AMELLOPHONEULIIMBA 17xylophoneogether ith notherman see section ntherelation f amellophonendxylophonenpage18).InheritanceThe luliimbas playedbymenandit is one oftheir onswhonormallynheritsthe nstrument.his snoteworthyince heMwerahave matrilinealescent ndmanyitems re nheritedn thematernaline.'2The ownerswhom interviewedtatedheyreceivedhe uliimba rom heir athers ho, nturn, ad received t from heir athers.MzeeMakwinyaaidthat ehad nheritedtfrom isgrandfather.heowners avetokeep ndpreserveheirnstrumentor heir wn sonsandgrandsons.ince theMweratraditionallyave he ule fuxorilocalmarital esidencehismeans hat he nstrumentsmovefromnevillage o another hen heyre nherited,nd the ongsprobablyo soas well.MzeeNakerumarriednthe illage fChimbendenga,ut nhisoldagereturnedto hishomevillageLionja.Whenhedied,his uliimbawashanded ver ohisson fromChimbendengaho saidthat e nturn illgive tto one ofhissons,who earned romtheir randfather,zee Nakeru, ow toplay t.Theoldestmusician,Mzee Makwinyafrom uponda adreceived is uliimba rom isgrandfatherho nturn ad receivedit from isfather.his nstrumenteemed o be older han he thers,ince twasquiteworn.MzeeMaji yaMotofrom tilagothis uliimba rom is fathernMnacho,whohadgot t from is father. e himselfMzeeMaji yaMoto)couldnotplay t.The heir f the nstruments obliged orememberheformerwner yplaying isinstrumentndsinging issongs, speciallyfhe was skilled nd famous. storyhallillustratehis.WhenMzee Nakeru ied n 1999 his uliimbawas leftnhisshelter-hutinthe ields ndnobody ooknotice f t.But soon after isdeathhiseldest onfell ll.Then nenighthe econd ondreamtf he uliimba. e took his s a message rom isdeceased ather'spirit,hat ewas not leasedbythenegligencefhis nstrument.heeldest rothergreed hat he ne whohad thedreamhould etchhe uliimbandkeepit.He did so andplayed t nmemoriamfhisfather,ndthe ldest rotherecovered.Whentheceremonyfmatanga'3was performed,he uliimbawas officiallyandedover o thebrother hohadhadthedream. e was told hat e shallbe the ustodianfthe nstrument.e must lay t,but t s nothisprivate roperty.fsomebody romhefamily ants oplay t,he must ive ttohim.He affirmedhat eplays he nstrumentat leastonce a week.He said thatfheforgetso do so,he willget a slap n theface"from he pirit fthedeceased. t s common ractisehat skilledmusician r dancermustbe rememberedy performingis art.That s a furthereasonwhytheownersshouldnotbeenpushedbycollectors r researcherso sell theirnstruments.omennormallyo notplaythe uliimbandareexcluded romts nheritance.zee Nakeru12 Each Mwerabelongs o hisorher ipinga matrilineage),utthere re also subsidiaryatrilineages(cilagwa).Membersfthe amecilagwa reexcluded rommarriage.13 Acommemorationeremony.t akes lace 0daysfterhe eath f he eceased.



14/16

18 JOURNALF NTERNATIONALIBRARYFAFRICANUSIChad daughterhowas he nlyne mong is hildrenho ook eal nterestnplay-ing henstrumentnd onsequentlyearnedtfrom er ather.ut he idnotnheritheinstrument.nfortunately,he ives arway nd ould ot ome oplay he nstrumentduring y tay.Luliimbandmangubilalamellophonendxylophone)IntheMwerarea heamellophonexists esidehe ylophone.hereashe lay-ingof the amellophones an individual attereservedormen, heplayingf thexylophones one ofmatrilineagescipinga, pinga).There reonly ertainineageswhopractisehe layingf he ylophone.omenrenot xcluded.hename f he ylo-phonenMwerasmangubila,n Swahili heMwera allthe amellophonemarimbayamkono"marimbaf he and)nd he ylophonemarimbaavibao"marimbafwooden eys).

Figure.Ms.Abdalla nd young an laying-keyed angubilanNditi,987photo y uthor).Themangubila onsists fseven, ight r ninekeysmade fromhe same woodas the ody ftheuliimbaPterocarpusngolensis).hesekeys replaced pon wobanana-stemsndfixed t onesidebysmall tickshrougholes n thekeys. n theotheride he eysre eparatedromach thery imilarticks.ometimesbundleofgrasssput etweenhe tems nd hekeys.t splayed y womusicians,neoneach ide.Oneplayers eadingkuimba,to ing"),he thers"answering"kujiticia).



15/16

THE MWERA AMELLOPHONEULIIMBA 19Theansweringoicestarts efore he eading oicebyplayingnesequence f tspart(kuomola).There s at least one piecewhich s playedon both nstruments,amely"Cancuupi kunakana uli?" Howcanthe ittle irdgetfat?).Mzee Makwinya romRuponda layed t onhisluliimba. had recorded he amepieceplayed nthexylo-phone mangubila)n Nditi Nachingwea istrict),bout30 kmawayfrom uponda,in1987 Figure ). MzeeMakwinyalso was abletoplay t on thexylophone,ogetherwith notherlayerFigure 0).

Figure 0.MzeeMakwinya layingCancuupi kunakana uli?"on8-keyedmangubilanRuponda, 999(photo yauthor).ConclusionThelamellophonef theMakonde/Mweraypehas seven ronkeys hat refixedand thereforeheiruningannot e changed. heinstruments playedbymen nd sinheritedn thepaternaline.A kind frelationshipeems oexistwith hexylophone,since t eastonepieceofmusicwasplayed nbothnstruments.owever,he uliimbalamellophonend tsmusic reabout odisappear,ince here reonly ew ldmen eftwho are abletoplay t.Therefore,uestionsegardinghemanufacturingfthe nstru-ment s well as thetransmissionfplaying echniques,nd musicalpiecesandsongsmight ever e answered.



16/16

20 JOURNALF NTERNATIONALIBRARY F AFRICANMUSICReferencesBlench,RogerM.1982 "Evidence or he ndonesianriginsf ertainlementsfAfricanulture: review,

with pecialreferenceo the rgumentsfA. M. Jones", fricanMusic, (2):81-932002 FromVietnameseithophoneso Balinesegamelans: historyftuned ercussioninthe ndo-Pacificegion. aperpresentedtthe17"Congress f the ndo-PacificPrehistoryssociation, aipeh, -15 September002. AccessedJuly 007,http://rogerblench.info/Ethnomusicology%20data/Papers/Asia/Blench%20IPPA%20Tud%20percussion%20web%20version.pdfDias,Margot1982 "Uimba-Typus es Lamellophons ei den -Makonde.Kubik",Gerharded.) inMusikgeschichtenBildern, stafrika,:162,Musikethnologie,ieferung0,Leip-

zig:VEB Deutscher erlag irMusik1986 Os instrumentosusicais eMogambique,nstitutoe Investigagaoientificaro-pical,Lisbon:Centro eAntropologiaultural1988 Citatya ulimba. lgumas otas obre amelofoneso Sul do RovumaMocambique)e ao Norte o RovumaTanzania). ivrodeHomenagem OrlandoRibeiro, isbon,583-594Gunderson,rank Gregoryarz2000 Mashindano! ompetitiveusic erformancen EastAfrica, ar es Salaam:MkukinaNyotaJones, rthur .1964 (rev. d. 1971)Africand ndonesia.Theevidence fthe ylophonend othermusi-cal and culturalactors, eiden:BrillJones, rthur .1973/74 "Letters othe ditor", frican usic, (3):96-97Kubik,Gerhard1996 "Lamellophone",nFinscher,udwiged.)Die Musikn Geschichte ndGegenwart4: 867-893,Kassel:Bairenreiter

1998 Kalimba,Nsansi,Mbira- LamellophonenAfrika, eriffentlichungenes Muse-umsfirV61kerkunde,eueFolge68,Musikethnologie. Berlin, taatliche useenPreussischerulturbesitzKubik,G.,M. A. Malamusi& L. Malamusi1985-87 NachdokumentationndKatalogisierungerSammlungfrikanischerusikinstru-mentemMusikinstrumentenmuseum/Miinchnertadtmuseum,s.Reuster-Jahn,ta2002 ErzdhlteKulturundErzdhlkulturei den Mwera in Siidost-Tansania,ologne:K6ppe

Documents

Reuster Jahn The Mwera Lamellophone Luliimba