| Themes > Arts > Music > Musical Instruments > Musical Instruments of Africa > Musical bow, mbela | ||
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The Ngbaka, who live in the forested area of the country, use their mbela, or musical bow, in their trapping rites. The instrument, made by the musical-hunter, is composed of a strongly-arched branch and string cut from a species of creeper; the string is stretched between the two ends of the branch and held in front of the half-open mouth. When struck with a thin stick, the string produces a fairly faint single note; to bring out another note, the player then touches it with a blade. The mouth cavity, acting as a natural resonator of varying shape and volume, amplifies and modulates the tones. The very earliest traces of the musical bow, which is regarded as the father of stringed instruments, or at any rate of the harp, may be those left in a cave engraving in Ariège, | |
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dating back more than 15 thousand years. The engraving portrays a man dressed up as an animal, holding a bow in front of his face, in a position similar to that adopted by the musician of the Central African Republic. |
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