Mbira (metal-tongued lamellophone)
Mbira (lamelófono de lengüetas metálicas)
- Date
- c. siglos X-XVI (propuesto) · confidence low
- Place
- Zambezi Valley, Mashonaland, Zimbabwe
- Credited to
- Shona and Karanga peoples
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
An instrument of iron or wooden tongues on a board and a gourd resonator, played with the thumbs. In Shona culture it accompanies rites of communication with the ancestors.
The origin of the African lamellophone is debated: the Zambezi, Zimbabwe or Congo-Gabon are proposed, with ages of one to three millennia but no clear archaeological remains. The first written description is by 16th-century Portuguese missionaries (J. dos Santos, 1586). Date and place are indicative.
What it led to
- the mbira dzavadzimu in Shona bira ceremonies
- spread of lamellophones (sanza, kalimba, likembe) across Africa
- the kalimba and mbira-influenced popular music