Mende song

Ethnomusicological sound recording made by Cootje van Oven. Mende song accompanied by one shegbureh, one tin can hit with a piece of wood and one pair of leg rattles. The meaning of the song is: "You are drinking and laughing but I am not, so I am not bothered about your drinking and laughing". The shegbureh, apparently always played by women is a stalked gourd surrounded by a network of beads (or buttons) on strings. The end of the strings is held in one hand, the stalk of the gourd in the other. Rhythmic movements of the gourd produce the desired rattle of the beads or buttons against the gourd. The tin can player, holding the tin with his left hand, uses the left index finger for "stopping". He plays the leg rattles by shaking his legs and stamping his feet. The height of the shegbureh gourd, measured around the curve, is 9". The stalk is 5" long. The length of the leg rattles varies from 7.5" to 5".

Related Videos

Further Information

  • Type: Sound Recording, Musical instruments
  • Object: Mende song
  • Materials: No Data / Other
  • Culture Group: Mende
  • Dimensions: No Data
  • Production Date: 1970.12.25
  • Associated Places: Panguma, Lower Banbara Chiefdom, Kenema District [Place recorded] [Origin of item]
  • Associated People: Cootje van Oven [Sound Recordist]; Chris Marshall [Sound Recordist]; Kpoi Guee [Lead singer and shegbureh]; Joe Suari [Sole male performer, tin can and lef rattles]
  • Museum: Cootje Van Oven Collection
  • Accession Number: CVO:351

Related Objects

Mende song

Sound Recording, Musical instruments

Limba song

Sound Recording, Musical instruments

Tuning of ututen and kongoma

Sound Recording, Musical instruments

Limba song

Sound Recording, Musical instruments

Limba song

Sound Recording, Musical instruments