E1074: Thumb piano (Lamellaphone)

Ethnographic

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Identifier:

E1074

Classification Category:

6:Tools & Equipment for Communication ➞ Musical T&E

Materials:

botanical ➔ wood
metal

Dimensions:

38.4 cm L
21 cm W
2.1 cm H

Ethnic Group:

African ➞ Chokwe

Use/Function:

A large thumb piano like this one was used to add music for large gatherings or ceremonies. Smaller, personal-sized thumb pianos were common, carried around by people in Botswana and Zambia similar to a traditional use of an American harmonica. Players changed the tones of the keys by both tightening the tension bar above the keys and by sliding the keys back and forth beneath the tension bar.This Lamellophone or cisanzi has a socio-cultural and musical function for the Chokwe people of northeast Angola. The cisanzi is important to their oral tradition. Resonators on the bottom are thin metal, glass, or shell rings that vibrate when the instrument is played to create a different timbre.

Source Locality:

Botswana

Acquisition Date:

2011

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