Harp "ngombi" ·  Gabon. Tsogho (?) · ID: 3040131

Description

light brown wood, matt patina, remains of pigments, corpus stretched with leather, reptile skin resp. printed metal plate, surmounted by a human head, eyes inset with mirror glass, complete with strings and wooden pegs, min. dam., small missing parts, cracks, traces of usage;
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