Tabwa Likembe Lamellophone
Lamellophones, plucked tine instruments of African origin, occupy a central place in the traditional music of the Congo.
Among the Batabwa (or Tabwa), a people of Katanga and Tanganyika, the likembe is much more than an instrument: it accompanies funeral rites, initiations, healings, and epic tales.
Carved from precious wood and fitted with metal tines made from recycled materials, each Tabwa thumb piano often bears geometric patterns and cosmological symbols characteristic of the ethnic group's tribal art.
02584
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Mid XXth century
- Size
- 27 cm
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood, metal
- Country
- Origin
- B. v. d. K colonial collection, Ixelles, Belgium
- Condition
- Vintage
Lamellophones, plucked tine instruments of African origin, occupy a central place in the traditional music of the Congo.
Among the Batabwa (or Tabwa), a people of Katanga and Tanganyika, the likembe is much more than an instrument: it accompanies funeral rites, initiations, healings, and epic tales.
Carved from precious wood and fitted with metal tines made from recycled materials, each Tabwa thumb piano often bears geometric patterns and cosmological symbols characteristic of the ethnic group's tribal art.