Ethnologische Sammlung
Tones, sounds and rhythms are solidly anchored in most societies. They are an expression of both identity and belonging, as well as for other uses, such as communication or entertainment. At the same time, instruments and sounds are frequently a means of exercising power.
Certain sounds or instruments may only be played or heard by a few people. A person's age, gender or social status often determine what can be played or heard. But governments or rulers also use music as a means of exercising power. They can promote or even suppress music. In turn, this can provoke resistance. And this resistance can also make use of the power of music. Forbidden tones and sounds have the agency to create identity and a sense of covert cohesiveness. The cultural significance of music is subject to constant change. It is closely linked to social developments, but also to conquest and war.
The exhibition of the Ethnological Collection offers valuable insights into the past and present. It invites visitors to explore the varied roles of music and sounds.
Capoeira – Dance or Resistance?
Capoeira is a dancelike martial art. But not only that – capoeira also embodies the resistance of enslaved people from Africa who were forcibly transported to Brazil. Developed in the seventeenth century, the art form disguised as a dance and accompanied by music and singing allowed martial-art techniques to be practiced in secret. Capoeira also strengthened group cohesiveness and promoted the development of an Afro-Brazilian identity. To this day, capoeira in Brazil is an expression of resistance against social inequality and marginalisation.
Instruments of Solo Consolations
Imagine an instrument not specifically construed for the production of sound directed to an audience but rather towards the individual out in nature, in private dwellings or around the fire with the family! In the past, all it required was a calabash, wood or a branch from a tree, animal hair for string, iron ore for lamella, wild honey wax from the stingless bees and the artistry of man for the sweetest and tender vibrational sonic. The Aawambo people of northern Namibia and southern Angola would create an okashandja (lamellophone), an ombulumbumba (chordophone) or an okahumba (pluriarcic chordophone) instrument for comfort. These mobile musical devices were purposefully constructed to be played seated, standing or when in motion. The music is always an improvisational instrumentalizacion and vocalization just for self-delectation (delight), during times of loneliness, sorrow, contemplations, praise, and extended walking journeys of young and older men.
Ombulumbumba
Firm researchers are of the view that the long name used by the people for this instrument is onomatopoeic, that is the sound of the word emulates the sound of the instrument. The words Okauta , Segwane/Segwana, Ombulumbumba and Tamaba refers to” little bow” or “little gourd’.
Construction of the Okambulumbumbwa
The instrument consists of a curved bow stave of round section to the ends of which a string is
attached. A resonator is fixed near one end of the stave. The bow is made of the branch of a barked
wood. The kwanyamas often use a branch of the tamboti tree (Spirostachchys Africana). The close
end is fixed to the bow by means of sinew or string threads through two small holes in the end of the
gourds and tied around the bow. To prevent too much movement or shifting a piece of cloth can be wedged in between the gourd and bow the gourd act as a resonator when it is pressed against the chest and the stomach or chest.
Playing technique
The player holds the lower end of the instrument in his left hand with the opening of the resonator against his chest or belly. The kwanyama player holds it in an oblique position, upper end pointing towards his left. The kwanyama use the stick both to strike and to bow the string. The player can also isolate and resonate partials of the two fundamentals to make a melody, by opening or closing the orifice in the resonator to varying extent, thus altering its resonance frequency.
Uses
The okambulumbumbwa are used for selfdelectative purposes or to entertain a small audience. For instance, the father can play his okambulumbumbwa to use it as communication tools to his children by teaching them on how to behave well within the community. He does this by playing it in the evening around the fire where the family is seating. In most cases, it is used at the kraal when grazing their cattle where the cattle herder or the owner can play his okambulumbumbwa by praising their cattle that is why men play them. In conclusion, Okambulumbumbwa was very
common among the kwanyama at the beginning of the present century.
Mbira
The Mbira is a traditional African instrument with its roots firmly set in southern Africa. It consists of a small wooden base with some metal keys, of different sizes, which are shaped of metal wires.These keys are then played with the thumbs, making it a type of African thumb piano. In Namibia
lamellophones are sometimes generically referred to as sanza or mbira / mbila .
Vernacular
Oshikwanyama: Okashandji
Rukwangali: Sisande
Otjiherero: Otjiisandji
Oshindonga: Okashanjia
Construction
Generally, these instruments consist of a wooden sound table, which may be rectangular or oval. Some are flat while others have side edges, which curve up slightly. Sometimes lamellae are fixed
onto a gourd that has been cut in half and covered with a thin wooden layer on the open end. Sound
tables are often carved in intricate and beautiful patterns; the sound table often has a hole cut
through it, in the centre of the side facing the player, which aids resonation. The one end of the wooden sound table has a raised ridge upon which the back ends of the lamellae rest. Another raised wooded or metal strip appears about 2–3cm in front of the first ridge. The lamellae lie across this ridge as well.
Video-Datei
Aino Moongo, 2023,
Photographs: Lydia Nghilundilua Keewende, Video editing: Neige Moongo, Georgi Kovachev, Narrative: Jackson Wahengo
Lamellophone
The lamellae are narrow strips of metal (iron) sometimes large nails are used, with the heads removed. The strips are the beaten flatter and wider at the playing end (loose ends face the player) and the edges are either squared-off or left with a curve. However, they are made smooth so that they do not scratch. At the far end, the lamellae may be 2–3 mm thick while at the playing end they may be less than1mm, yet about 3–4mm wide. They are fixed to sound table by means of a strip of iron or wire running over them between the two ridges, each lamella is then fixed by means of a thin wire coming from the bottom side of sound table, passing over the lamella and back through the sound table on its other side. This procedure is repeated with each lamella.
Lamellophones in Namibia normally have a secondary sistrum fixed to the front end. This takes the form of a wire staple fixed in the horizontal plane of the wooden sound table. On this, small objects such as copper or iron rings or cuffs are hung. There are usually three of these, but the number is probably based on the personal preference of the instrumentmaker or player these sistrum create the secondary buzzling sound much loved by musicians all over Africa.
The number of lamellae on the instruments differs from region to region. Okashandji from Akwanyama, Sisande from Vakwangali, Ndingo from Hambukushu has minimum of 5 and maximum of 16 the older the player the more the number of lamellae while the sistra number vary.
To Play
The sound table is held in both hands. The thumbs stroke the wide ends of the lamellae, sometimes the index fingers are also used. The large Okashandji gourd is placed on the knees and the instrument is laid inside it.
Uses
The sound of lamellophones is fairly quiet and gentle; men traditionally play them only. Usually to
accompany singing, although one also finds purely instrumental pieces, sometimes the player sings
about special themes such as nature or loneliness, when there are good singers for accompaniment. Lamellophones are played at social gatherings or parties of initiations of a girl during the celebration of their first menstruation period.
The Repression of Musical Diversity
With 135 ethnic groups officially recognised by the state, Myanmar is a country endowed with a broad cultural diversity. For many Myanmarese groups, music and musical instruments are an expression of identity and cultural cohesiveness.
A military dictatorship has ruled since 1962 and stands accused of numerous human rights violations against ethnic minorities. Among other things, it is responsible for the persecution of the Rohingya, an ethnic group that is not recognised by the state. The government is propagating a national cultural programme to strengthen a sense of unified nationhood. This is mainly based on the cultural heritage of the largest ethnic group, the Bamar, which actively suppresses the rich musical cultures of the ethnic minorities.
Taboo? Secret and Hidden Music
A taboo refers to a prohibition, an unwritten law that forbids doing certain things or having knowledge of something in a society. Even music and instruments are not always accessible to everyone. Sometimes cultural or religious beliefs justify why musical instruments may only be owned, played or listened to by a select few. Such restrictions often reflect the social position and thus the political influence of a person or group. But gender and age can also be decisive factors influencing access to musical instruments.
The wooden friction drum was played exclusively on New Ireland by initiated men (i.e. men who had been accepted into the inner circle through a ritual) during malangan ceremonies honouring the dead. When the player rubbed the wooden wedges (or ‘tongues’) with moistened hands, the penetrating reverberation was reminiscent of the voices of the deceased. As a secret ritual object, it was never allowed to be seen by women. In the course of European colonialism, the restrictions and traditions associated with the Livika were lost.
Music Creates Identity
Many sounds, rhythms and instruments are closely associated with specific communities or groups. Panpipes and the didgeridoo are good examples of this. Panpipes have been used all over the world for thousands of years and yet many people associate them exclusively with the Andes in South America. Didgeridoos, on the other hand, are still regarded today by many to be the epitome of the indigenous cultures of Australia. However, they were originally only played by a few indigenous groups in Australia. Even if this external attribution can reinforce the effect of community building, it is primarily the identification of the individual in a group with sounds, rhythms or instruments that creates a sense of group cohesiveness.
Archaeological finds prove that panpipes have been in use in the Andes for more than 4,000 years. They accompany various rituals in the life cycle of people and nature. The joint playing and simultaneous dancing of all participants, called flauta colectiva (“collective flute”), is also part of rituals. In this way, many panpipes and people become one flute and one community.
Despite the continued worldwide popularity of the didgeridoo, most people outside Australia know little about its ceremonial and spiritual significance.
The instrument, which is several thousand years old, is attributed to the Yolngu people of north-eastern Australia. Nevertheless, it has been adapted by other indigenous groups in the country and is now a symbol of shared identity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Played for Centuries: Gamelan on Java and Bali
The gamelan orchestra is an instrumental ensemble from Indonesia, Southeast Asia. It originated in the Javanese royal courts but is now played in many parts of society. The gamelan differs according to religious orientation and specific region: on the Hindu-influenced island of Bali, it can be accompanied by dance and is part of funerary rituals. On the predominantly Muslim island of Java, it accompanies the traditional form of shadow puppetry known as Wayang Kulit.
The instruments and the sounds they produce are associated alternately with the female or male. Thus, they reflect traditional local gender roles, which are increasingly being critically questioned in Indonesian society. Today, the gamelan can be found not only in traditional contexts, but also in pop music. The gamelan has been part of UNESCO's Intangible World Cultural Heritage since 2021 and, as a result, is attracting fresh attention across the world.
Entertainment With a Message
Wayang Kulit is a traditional form of shadow puppetry that is accompanied by the gamelan, especially in Java. It visualises stories from the Hindu “Mahabaratha”, which imparts various philosophies, myths, war and love stories in more than 200,000 verses.
During the Islamisation of Java under the reign of Raden Patah (c. 1475), Wayang Kulit was used as a peaceful method to convey the Islamic faith to the Indonesian people. In the process, Wayang Kulit was adapted to conform to the Muslim faith.
How the Gamelan Instruments and Miniatures Entered the Ethnological Collection
Many of the objects shown here are courtesy of Hugo Ficke, co-founder of the museum and at times honorary director of the former Museum für Natur- und Völkerkunde. Hugo Ficke acquired the objects during a trip to Java in 1909, when Java was part of the Dutch colony of the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Hugo Ficke sold or donated some of the instruments he brought back to the museum immediately after his return, while others became part of the collection as a bequest after his death in 1912.
Other gamelan instruments or miniatures shown in the exhibition arrived in the collection in 1907, for example, via the Dutch-Indian Association “East-West”.
The gamelan objects on display here were procured under colonial power relations that need to be critically scrutinised. Provenance research projects are attempting to reconstruct the contexts of specific acquisitions.
The Power of the Supernatural
Today, vessel rattles are primarily known as percussion instruments in Caribbean and Latin American music genres. Son, mambo, salsa, merengue and other styles of music, some of which are known worldwide, are accompanied by vessel rattles.
In indigenous communities, especially in the so-called lowland regions in the north of Latin America, rattles were and are used in rituals. In particular, healers and other magical aficionados, often referred to as shamans, use rattles to heal the sick, put themselves into a trance and communicate with supernatural beings.
The healers and magical aficionados of the Guahibo groups living in Venezuela and Colombia use vessel rattles to heal the sick, among other things. The Guahibo believe that illnesses are caused by malign forces or the influence of a magical enemy. In a state of trance, the healer can detect the illness and remove it from the body of the afflicted person.
Tones and Sounds as a Means of Communication
Music not only plays an important role in the transmission of information, signals or messages. It also fulfils a communicative function as an expression of feelings. When words are not enough, music can convey emotions – love, sadness or anger.
Although the emotional response to music is culturally specific, there are musical instruments that are used in similar contexts across cultures. In some regions, for example, the Jew's harp seems to have established itself as a kind of substitute for language in courtship.
In the Alpine region, “Fensterln” was known for centuries as a form of courtship. At night in front of the desired woman’s window, the young paramour revealed his deep affection with the help of poems and by playing a Jew's harp. The Catholic Church banned the instrument for two years in the middle of the nineteenth century, as it was considered to have “eroticising” properties. Nowadays, the Jew's harp is no longer commonly played, but it is still made.
The sarangi is one of the most widespread traditional string instruments in India. The strings, which can range from three to thirty-eight, are played with a bow. Its sound is similar to the human voice, which gives it a high degree of virtuosity and emotionality.
In Muslim areas of northern India and Pakistan, the instrument is still passed down from generation to generation by so-called hereditary professional musicians. However, the number of players is decreasing, partly due to the low reputation associated with the instrument, as it often accompanied the singing of courtesans. Courtesans were women who provided amorous services in aristocratic and upper middle-class circles.
Ingoma - the drums of Burundi
The drums of Burundi had and still have an outstanding significance for the Burundian nation. Some were considered sacred and royal during the time of the monarchy until 1966 because they enjoyed a very special function and role. They symbolised monarchical legitimacy and were only played on certain occasions – e.g. sowing and harvest festivals – and by specially trained Batimbo drummers. They were said to guarantee divine protection for king and country. The cultic worship of the drums was brought to an end by the Christianisation of Burundi around 100 years ago. In addition to these royal drums, there were others – the only ones still played today – that were solely intended to accompany dancing. Burundian drums have always embodied a kind of mystical connection between the country and its people, which they regard as fundamental to their identity.
In 2014, the drums of Burundi were included by UNESCO in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Three years later, the former Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a decree banning the playing of drums during unofficial ceremonies.
Audiodatei
Amashako
Goblet Drum
This drum is played to accompany dances in Burundi. During the drum dances, between five and twenty drummers play instruments of various sizes and perform acrobatic choreographies with symbolic meaning. The drum on display, amashako, produces a medium tone and is usually represented by three or four instruments.
It was made in Burundi from a rare type of tree that is only used to make drums and is covered with cowhide.
The Burundian drum group Akaranga bought the instrument and had it transported with other drums from Burundi to Freiburg. The amashako can be heard at festivals and events.
More drums from different regions of the world
The drum is one of the oldest musical instruments known to man. Although it can be found in all cultures around the world in countless designs and playing styles, it is often associated with Africa. Such stereotypical ideas often have their origins in colonial times.
Drums reflect the traditions and history of the respective cultures in their versatile use, sound and appearance. Today, they are widespread in most musical genres and are one of the most important instruments in world music.
From a musicological point of view, drums belong to the group of membranophones. Their sound is produced by beating on a vibrating membrane, usually animal skin or hide. Some idiophones, such as the slit drum shown here, are also referred to as drums.
The Fascination of the Frame Drum
Frame drums are among the oldest instruments in the world. Depictions from Mesopotamia show women holding a frame drum in both hands as early as 3,000 BCE. Formerly rooted in holy contexts, they are still played today, are at home in jazz, pop, school, orchestral and world music and are widespread worldwide featuring 220 different types.
Frame Drum – a Tradition in Transition
A film about the living “frame drum legend”, namely the American musician Glen Velez. Within just a few decades, he has created a new frame drum tradition – in an analogue age without social media or YouTube.
Video-Datei
Video editing: Murat Coşkun
Daf / Erbane
Frame Drum
Traditionally, the daf is at home in Sufism, but nowadays it is also used in popular music genres.
The inside of its frame is covered with countless small metal rings. Certain playing techniques – such as “shaking” or “slinging” – amplify the sound of the instrument. New playing techniques create groovy shaker effects.
The modern daf is lighter than traditionally-made instruments and offers a tuning option with a pneumatic tuning system, in which a tube between the skin and the wooden frame can increase or decrease the tension.
Timbila und Tikhongo
Xylophone and Mallets
Accompanied by dancing, singing and drumming, the Chopi play concerts with up to twenty mallets simultaneously. These complex orchestras provide crucial support for the entertainment. The accompanying texts deal with social and political issues, often in a humorous vein.
In 2008, UNESCO included the timbila in the Representative List of the Intangible World Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Signal Transmission
Musical and sound instruments produce acoustic signals that can contain messages. Both the beat and the rhythm or sequence of notes provide information about the content of the message. The volume of a signal instrument is also important. This is why percussion instruments, such as drums or wind instruments, are primarily used to transmit signals. For example, warnings about dangerous situations (such as in wartime or emergencies), announcements or instructions can be communicated over long distances.
Thanks to
The module on Namibian musical instruments and the texts were developed by Aino Moongo with the support of Lydia Kee-wende Nghilundilua. Aino Moongo is a Namibian curator based at the Iwalewa House of the University of Bayreuth. Since 2010, she has been involved in the research project “Stolen Moments. Namibian Music History Untold", which treats the forgotten popular music of Namibia from the time before its independence. Since then, she has curated the associated exhibition, which has already been shown in Basel, Berlin, London, Stuttgart and Windhoek.
The module on the Gamelan ensemble was designed by students from the Institute of Ethnology at the University of Freiburg. Under the direction of PD Dr. Ingo Rohrer and employees of the Museum Natur und Mensch, the objects were selected, researched, thematic focuses decided upon and texts written. The students familiarised themselves with the challenges of work in the museum and exhibition design.
The following students took part in the collaborative seminar: Nina Fietzeck, Mira Fischer, Jasmin Hartmann, Franziska Obenaus, Jan Sander and Shivani Vicknaswaran.
The texts on the Ingoma drum and the audio sample were written by Sylvère Bigirimana. Born and raised in Burundi and a qualified teacher, he has lived in Freiburg for twenty-five years. Sylvère Bigirimana is a member of the Akaranga drumming group and is involved in various Burundian-German associations.
The texts for the frame drum and the video were written by Murat Coşkun. The internationally renowned musician mediates between musical worlds in the fields of world percussion, classical music, early music, jazz and “Neue Musik” (new music). His concerts take him all over the world, be it as a soloist, in ensembles or orchestras. Murat Coşkun also works as a studio musician, composer, author and teacher. He has been head of the World Percussion Department at the Popakademie (Mannheim) since 2015 and is the founder and artistic director of the Tamburi Mundi Festival in Freiburg.