Ground bow
The ground-bow, also known as an earth-bow or ground harp,[1] is a single-string bow-shaped folk musical instrument, classified as a chordophone. It is known in cultures of equatorial [2] and south[3] Africa, and in other cultures with African roots. It consists of a flexible stick planted into the ground (possibly a stripped sapling or a branch[4]), with a string from its free end to a resonator of some kind based on a pit in the ground.[5] It looks like a game trap or a child toy, therefore its distribution over Africa used to be overlooked. Hornbostel (1933) classified is in the category of harps, although it has combined characteristics of a harp and a musical bow.[4]
The resonator may be a pit covered by a board, with string attached to it.[5] Kruges describes several other constructions by Venda, e.g., the other end of a string is tied to a stone dropped into the pit, with string passing through the board covering the pit, etc.[4]
Other names include kalinga or galinga by Venda people. In their language "galinga" means simply a hole in the ground, while the origins of "kalinga" are uncertain.[4] It is known as gayumba in Haiti,[6] Dominican Republic,[7] and tumbandera in Haitian traditions of Cuba.[6][8] Baka people call it angbindi.[9]
It is also known in Cuba under the onomatopoeic name tingo-talango (tingotalango).[10][11] Julio Cueva's song Tingo Talango dedicated to this musical instrument describes its construction thus:
Si quieren que les describa
cómo es el tingo talango
tráiganme un gajo de güira
o si no uno de mango.
Se abre un hueco en el suelo,
encima una hoja de lata,
en el centro un agujero
donde un alambre se ata.Translation:If you want me to describe
how is the tingo talango
bring me a slice of güira
or if not, one of mango.
A hole opens in the ground
a tin sheet on top,
in the center a hole
where a wire is tied.
Tingo Talango is also the song by Ñico Lora.
The instrument is reportedly nearly-extinct in the native cultures.[4][6]
Playing techniques
[edit]Kalinga may be struck by a stick or plucked in various ways. The bow stick may be bent to change the tension of the string, and hence the tone. It can be played in a glissando manner: the stick is bent, struck, and released, producing a peculiar sound. The produced pitches are not always stable.[4]
Kalinga is usually played to provide repetitive accompaniment to the choral song.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Rycroft, David K. (2002). "Ground harp (Fr. arc-en-terre; Ger. Erdbogen)". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.11841.(subscription required)
- ^ "Ground Bow", Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Kubik, Gerhard (23 September 2009). Africa and the Blues. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-60473-728-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jaco Kruger, "Rediscovering the Venda Ground-Bow", Ethnomusicology, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 391-404
- ^ a b "Arco de tierra", referring to François-René Tranchefort, Los instrumentos musicales en el mundo, ISBN 8420685208, 1985, and later editions
- ^ a b c Music in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Encyclopedic History , vol.2, p.210
- ^ Fradique Lizardo, Instrumentos musicales indígenas dominicanos, 1975,Section "Gayumba", p.64
- ^ "Tumbandera". Archived from the original on 2017-03-02. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- ^ "Baka Music & Magic - the Technology of Enchantment - full documentary".
- ^ "CUBANISM: WHAT IS The “Tíngo Talángo” ?"
- ^ "TINGO TALANGO, son, Auteur : Julio CUEVA