Temne song

Ethnomusicological sound recording made by Cootje van Oven. Temne song accompanied by the sangbai, a tin being hit and handclapping. The performers and instruments can be seen in the photograph. The song tells the story of three men who came from the east with different sums of money to seek knowledge. The first spent his money on a glass, the second on a mat and the third on a pineapple. They took their purchases to the Paramount Chief at the place which they had reached by then. He told them to stage a play with these things. The owner of the glass looked into it and saw their father dead in their home village. They then used the may to fly back home. The owner of the pineapple squeezed its juice on to the father's eyes, and the father revived. The sangbai is a conical wooden drum with one skin. it is played with the hands. The tin is hit with two sticks. Height of sangbai 16", diameter of its drumskin 6.5".

Further Information

• Type: Sound Recording, Musical instruments
• Object: Temne song
• Materials: No Data / Other
• Culture Group: Temne
• Dimensions: No Data
• Production Date: 1966.12.16
• Associated Places: Mano, Yoni Chiefdom, Tonkolili District [Place Recorded][Origin of Item]
• Associated People: Cootje van Oven [Sound Recordist]; Herb Clark [Sound Recordist]; Momo Seri [Bling lead singer and dancer]; Abdulai Forna [Sangbai]; Saidu Turay [Tin]
• Museum: Cootje Van Oven Collection
• Accession Number: CVO:207

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