NMM 4175.  Double clapperless bell (kuge), Cameroon, mid-20th century. Iron, struck with attached wood beater, regularly used in the area of Cameroon where the donor worked and collected this and other instruments. Gift of Verna Syverson, a missionary in Meiganga, Cameroon, 1987.

NMM 3179 and 3180.  Two drums from a set of tuned drums or drum chime (entenga), Uganda, ca. 1910. Played at the royal court of the Kabaka, the traditional ruler of Buganda, a region of Uganda. As many as 15 such drums are played together, tuned so that one can hear a melody. Inside of each, an unidentified fetish rattles around. Collected by Carl E. Akeley (1864-1926), who led five expeditions to Africa. His older brother, Lewis E. Akeley (1861-1961), was Dean of the USD College of Engineering and died in Vermillion at the age of 100. Gift of Melville H. Miller, DeLand, Florida, 1983.

NMM 10074.  Guitar, Sebele (outskirts of Gaborone), Botswana, ca. 1978. Hand-made from a can used to ship USAID foodstuffs. Three strings. Acquired from two 12-year-old boys walking down a dirt road in front of the donors' house. Gift of Dale and JoAnne Reeves, Brookings, South Dakota, 2001.

NMM 10989.  Pluriarc (multi-neck harp), Benin (southwestern Nigeria), early 20th century. Probably played by the Edo speaking people of the area, where the tradition dates back to the days of ancient Benin. Eight strings. Paul and Jean Christian Collection, 2006.

Lit.:  "Recent Acquisitions," National Music Museum Newsletter 35, No. 2 (May 2008), p. 6.

NMM 1503.  Arched harp, Belgian Congo, ca. 1900. Waisted, boat-shaped wood body tightly covered with hide. Two sound holes. Carved effigy head at the top of the curved, wood neck. Five pegs. Ex coll.: William E. Gribbon, Greenfield, Massachusetts. Purchase funds gift of Grace L. Beede, 1977.

NMM 5893.  Arched harp (donnu) by Mangbetu people, Uele river region, Belgian Congo (now northeastern Zaire), ca. 1910-1920. The twisted copper wire depicts the geometric, dotted, linear body painting favored by Mangbetu women. The elongated heads represent the Mangbetu's Queen Nenzima and King Yangala. Board of Trustees, 1995.

NMM 2388.  Arched harp, Central Africa, ca. 1920. Ivory neck and pegs and an effigy head carved at the top with elaborate hair or a headdress. Wood body covered with tightly sewn reptile skin. Five strings. Ex coll.: Fred Benkovic, Milwaukee. Board of Trustees, 1978.

NMM 2441.  Horn, Belgian Congo (now Zaire), ca. 1850-1900. Ivory. An effigy head inlaid with rings of black resin to form the eyes. Lozenge-shaped embouchure with two carved ivory extensions. Ex coll.: Harry Oster, Iowa City. Board of Trustees, 1978.

NMM 4994.  Hunting horn (baragumu), Kenya or Tanganyika (now Tanzania), ca. 1925. Side-blown horn made from the twisted horn of the kudu antelope, with a carved, integral embouchure at the narrow end. Played by antelope hunters during the ritual held before their departure on the next hunt. Owned by an English collector before World War II. His initials, WMS, are painted in black on the bell. Arne B. Larson Estate, 1988.

NMM 7037.  Hunting horn, Belgian Congo (now Zaire), ca. 1925. Stained ivory or animal horn. Lozenge-shaped embouchure with a man's head carved on the backside. Dot patterns burned into the body. Joe R. & Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999.

NMM 7176.  Hunting horn, Belgian Congo (now Zaire), ca. 1925. Sable antelope horn covered with hide sewn along the inner curve. Horns made from antelope horns are common in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Joe R. & Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999.

NMM 7269.  Hunting horn, Italian East Africa (now Ethiopia), ca. 1925. Wood, ornamented with three pieces of skin from goat legs, including hooves. Interesting embouchure with a second small hole at the narrow end that can be stopped with one's thumb. Joe R. & Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999.

NMM 7270.  Hunting horn, eastern Africa, ca. 1925. Two pieces of wood, hollowed out and held together with cloth and covered with goat skin, neatly sewn on. Interesting embouchure hole with the air going out the side. Joe R. & Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999.

NMM 1434.  Lyre (ndongo), Uganda (east Africa), ca. 1935. Bowl-shaped wood resonator covered with snakeskin, with a single sound hole. Eight strings of twisted leather bound by strips of cloth at the crossbar. Quasi-triangular yoke. Used both as a solo instrument and in ensembles. Plucked with the fingers of both hands. Ex coll.: James Francis, Toledo, Ohio. Board of Trustees, 1976.

NMM 1242.  Plucked lamellaphone (sansa), Loango people, Zaire, ca. 1900. Homoxylic wood resonator, hollowed out from the bottom, top end resembling the prow of a boat. Decorated with small, blue glass beads in a pattern of lozenges. Six (originally seven) iron tongues. Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979.

NMM 1241.  Plucked lamellaphone (sansa), probably East Africa, early 20th century. Metal lamellae forged from umbrella ribs or bicycle-wheel spokes. Six wood panels nailed together to form trapezoidal resonator. Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979.

NMM 1243.  Plucked lamellaphone (tyitanzi), Angola (West Africa), early 20th century. Played by depressing and releasing the nine (originally ten) tongues, five of brass and four of forged iron, with the thumbs. Flat soundtable incised with a pattern of lozenges flanked by triangles. Small convex discs of brass at the ends, and five jingling metal rings strung on a loop of twisted iron. Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979.

NMM 4173.  Plucked lamellaphone (sansa), Gbaya tribe, western grasslands region of Cameroon, ca. 1950. A female figure, once used and kept in a hut where it was exposed to in-house cooking fires. Hair is carved to look like it is pulled back, almost to a point, typical of the Gbaya people. The nine wood tongues are depressed and released to make music. Gift of Verna Syverson, Cameroon, 1987.

NMM 2606.  Dance rattle (osó or makalaka), Mhasha villager or tribesman, Bechuanaland Protectorate, ca. 1897. Gourd body, wood handle. Filled with some 30 small, but hard seeds. A free design scratched on surface of the gourd. Ex coll.: Silvia Davison Paton, Hartford Seminary, Connecticut, 1904. Board of Trustees, 1979.

NMM 4176.  Beaded gourd rattle (cabaca), Cameroon, mid-20th century. Used by men in the grasslands region of Cameroon. Gift of Verna Syverson, Cameroon, 1987.

NMM 1293.  Double-reed woodwind (algaita), Nigeria or savannah area of western Africa, ca. 1925. Three-part (cylindrical/conical) wood body covered with leather. Four finger holes, typical of the instrument in Nigeria, where the player presses his lips against the disc and uses his cheeks as an air reservoir, so that the instrument can be blown continuously. Ex coll.: Phillip Bate, London. Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979.

NMM 2440.  Xylophone (balo), Sierra Leone (West Africa), ca. 1900. Wood frame with nineteen bars (keys) and gourd resonators hanging below. Played by male professional musicians to accompany praise songs. Board of Trustees, 1978.

NMM 2425.  Portable xylophone (mbila), Portugese East Africa or southern Mozambique, ca. 1900. Ten bars and gourd resonators (one missing). Two mallets with resin heads. Built to be played while walking. Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979.

NMM 1247.  Portable ring xylophone (kundung), Nigeria, Cameroon, or Zaire (central Africa), ca. 1935. Seven bars (keys) with animal horn resonators. Two y-shaped wood beaters make it possible to play up to four bars at once. Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979.

NMM 2429.  Stick zither (lokángo voatávo), Madagascar, signed FAHATSIAROVANA TAMIN'NY DRISTIANA Fort Dauphin, 25 Avril 1905. Wood, two strings, played with a gourd resonator. Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979.