I exist in Africa, only in Africa.
In Zimbabwe, I am the national instrument.
I’m called a lamellaphone because of my tongues.
They are made of metal, palm leaf or bamboo. Sometimes, I only have three, and sometimes up to 52. They are attached to a plank or a gourd.
Among the Shona, they’re called mazwi, which means “voices”.
The voices talk to each other, just like people do.
What part do I play in society?
I honour the ancestors.
I have healing powers.
I am nourishing, like water, more than a thousand years old.
I create looping melodies that have a trance-like effect.
I am present in possession ceremonies, in the struggle for liberation and in the battle of the sexes.
I create a collective consciousness.
Those who know playing me become creative – in the composition of variations and in improvised song.
