242

Voice disguiser made from gourd with membrane.

The player sings through the hole on the side of the instrument, causing the membrane stretched over the hole at the top of the neck to modify the music of the voice with a buzzing sound. At the time when this voice-disguiser was collected, it was used by students to make music for the maripengo dance, together with drums. These instruments were the mainstay of the school band in Mporokoso, Zambia in the late 1960s. Similar kazoo bands feature in North Malawi, in malipenga dances imitating the British Army parades of the colonial era.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
2000.85
Date
circa 1978
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 262 x 140 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
gourd
CATEGORY
Musical Instruments
LOCATION
Music Gallery > Side D - Listening to Order > Case D2 - Classification
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Collection Information

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