mbira

The mbira, also called a thumb piano or kalimba in some of its forms, has been central to the musical culture of the Shona people of Zimbabwe for over a thousand years. The instrument consists of metal or bamboo tines of varying lengths mounted on a hardwood soundboard, often placed inside a large calabash resonator (the deze) to amplify the sound. Players pluck the tines with their thumbs and forefingers, producing a bright, crystalline tone. In Shona tradition, the mbira dzavadzimu (mbira of the ancestors) is a sacred instrument used in bira ceremonies to communicate with ancestral spirits. Different tuning systems and playing techniques produce complex interlocking patterns between multiple players. The instrument spread across Africa in various forms and, as the kalimba, became popular worldwide after Hugh Tracey's simplified commercial version in the 1950s.