Harp "ngombi" · Gabon, Fang · ID: 3039040
Description
light brown wood, matt patina, blackened in parts, remains of kaolin, rectangular corpus stretched with leather, strings and wooden pegs missing, min. dam., slight traces of usage and abrasion, base;
during the early 1900s in response to the rise of Western religions, the “bieri” ancestor cult gave birth to a revivalist religion called “bwiti”. Harp lutes came to represent the balance between men and women, and between humankind and the supernatural. Harp music is perceived to be the female voice of pity and comfort that keeps foreign evils at bay so that people can communicate with their ancestors.
Comparing literature
Brincard, Marie-Therese, Sounding forms, Washington D.C. 1989, p. 87 Cogdell, Jacqueline, Turn up the Volume! University of California 1999, p. 295