Traditional Kikuyu Musical Instruments

Traditional Instruments of the Kikuyu

The Kikuyu people are a Bantu ethnic group native to Central Kenya and roughly 17% of the country's total population. They live on the southern and western sides of Mount Kenya and share common ancestry with other Bantu communities, particularly the Ameru and Embu.

The Kikuyu are agriculturalists, an occupation not known for creating great music. However, after the harvests, they participate in choral dances with little in the way of instrumental accompaniment, but metal jingles on the legs to help maintain a rhythm. That said, the Kikuyu have a few noteworthy instruments, mainly played by soloists.

1. Gechande
2. Kigamba
3. Leg Jingles
4. Flute
5. Wandindi
6. Coro Horn
7. Stretched Animal Skin

1. Gechande

The gechande was a gourd with coloured lines and images that Routledge described as hieroglyphs. It was also decorated with cowrie shells. The gourd was filled with small hard objects to form a rattle. The opening of the gourd was sealed with gum.

The images represented a story which was re-told by the player, who played alone without another singer or instrument. By the time Routledge acquired a sample Gechande in 1910, the technique and storytelling genre had been forgotten by the surviving Kikuyu.

Apparently, the singer would travel for a period of up to six months, performing the gechande along the way.

2. Kigamba

Another type of rattle, Routledge describes the kigamba (plural: ciigamba) as:

"Oval sheets of iron with ends brought to a blunt point that was six inches long, folded over until the edges were only 1/4 inch apart—the form produced being something like that of the banana fruit. Several bullets of iron are enclosed…[these were] worn strapped in [a] horizontal position above the knee joint."

These were used to make a rhythmic accompaniment to singing by stamping the foot in a choreographed manner.

3. Leg Jingles

The Kikuyu use leg jingles as percussion instruments. The jingles are made by blacksmiths who shape sheet metal around metal pieces or pebbles. Dancers move their legs rhythmically to accompany the music. When several dancers move their jingles to the same rhythm, the effect is beautiful.

4. Flute

The flute was never used in group dances or songs. It was only played when the player had too much time on his hands. It was also played when a man was grieving over the loss of somebody or his personal belongings.

During the dry season, when the millet that was planted during the short rain (mbura ya mwere) was maturing, the flute came in handy as a way to pass time in the field as the farmer kept a close watch on his millet crop.

During this marira-ini ma mwere season, the birds become hungry for millet and need to be constantly threatened with stones. This watch started at as early as 4 a.m. and would continue up until about 7 p.m. The family, especially the boys, would help by taking turns keeping watch on the high platform (getara), which was built in the middle of the garden.

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The flute and whistles were played only by men. However, there was a flute that was played by women only that was "bamboo, two-inches in diameter, open on both ends, and capable of only playing one note. It was played by women at circumcision" (Routledge).

Cultural Fact: It was taboo to blow the flutes inside a hut.

5. Wandindi

The wandindi is a one-stringed musical instrument of the Kikuyu and other communities. The resonator is traditionally made of a bottle gourd and piece of tight animal skin. A stick projects from the gourd and has a string tightly attached to its extreme end, not unlike a banjo or guitar in American folk music.

The player makes different sounds by sliding a finger or thumb on the string while using a bow on the string, similar to how a violin is played. A modern version often seen with street performers in urban centers in Kenya uses a tin as a resonator. Some communities in Kenya still use this instrument in traditional ceremonies, but the Kikuyu have abandoned it entirely.

6. Coro Horn

The coro is a side-blown horn which came in two traditional variations: the straight horn of the onyx and the spiral horn of the greater kudu.

7. Stretched Animal Skin

The traditional Kikuyu did not play drums, which is surprising considering that the use of drums was widespread among their neighbours, such as the Agumba and Chuka. However, they had a unique musical instrument that was made from a single membrane that was stretched on the ground, from where it was played.

Since it could not be carried away, it must have been stretched every time it was needed and then rolled away when its use was over. It's no wonder that it is not displayed in museums. I have never seen one in use, and the majority of the Kikuyu today would be surprised to know that it existed at all.

Related Reading

• Traditional Musical Instruments of Tanzania [Amazon]
  Some of the instruments described in this revised 1990 edition are shared by Tanzanian tribes and the Kikuyu in traditional folk music.
• The Akikuyu of British East Africa [Amazon]
  The 1910 study of the Kikuyu tribe written by William Scoresby Routledge and Katherine Routledge. A must-read for anyone interested in the topic.
• World's Oldest Musical Instruments
  Learn all about the oldest music instruments of mankind.
• Traditional Igbo Music
  Traditional Igbo music is vibrant and interesting and Igbo cultural songs showcase southern Nigerian instruments like the udu (a wind instrument), odu-okike horn, and ubo-aka, an Igbo thumb piano.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2011 Emmanuel Kariuki

Comments

Emmanuel Kariuki (author) from Nairobi, Kenya on March 05, 2012:

Thanks Jamila,

I hope to update this hub soon and hopefully write another communitiy's musical instruments. With 42 ethnic communities in Kenya, there is a lot of materia out there.

jamila sahar on March 03, 2012:

very interesting, i studied some ethnomusicology in graduate school and found this hub very interesting there are so many incredible forms of music all over the planet ! thanks for sharing this, voted up useful and interesting