Mende Bundu Society Song

Ethnomusicological sound recording made by Cootje van Oven. Mende song for the devil dance of the Bundu Society. The song is accompanied by two shegbureh, one sangbai, one gbetei (side drum) and one bilie (bass drum). The photograph pictures the sangbai (and part of the bilie), shegbureh and the chorus. Some of the musicians are Sherbro, others Mende; the song is sung in Mende. 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 sangbai is a conical wooden drum with one skin and often with an extension. It is played with the hands. The extension of this one consists of three long strips of metal, the first and third parallel to each other and the middle one U-shaped. Bells have been fixed on strings connected the first and third strings, and metal wires have been threaded through the strips themselves. Gbetei and bilie are Mende names for the side drum and bass drum, but later on these musicians themselves referred to the bass drum as ban which is a name used by Temne and Limba musicians. Their explanation was that ban was the general or "English" name. The gbetei was beaten on the snared side; it sis not have the somewhat aggressive sound quality normally produced by snared drums. The bilie was beaten with a soft-headed stick just on one of its two skins. Length of shegbureh (they were both the same size) including stalk and measured around the curve of the gourd: 15". Height of sangbai 21", diameter of its drumskin 10", length of extension 29". Depth of gbetei 8", diameter 12". Depth of bilie 13", diameter 22".

Related Videos

Further Information

• Type: Sound Recording, Musical instruments
• Object: Mende Bundu Society Song
• Materials: No Data / Other
• Culture Group: Mende, Sherbro
• Dimensions: No Data
• Production Date: 1966.12.28
• Associated Places: Bonthe, Sherbro Island [Place Recorded] [Origin of item]
• Associated People: Cootje van Oven [Sound Recordist]; Herb Clark [Sound Recordist]; Adama [Lead singer and shegbureh]; Kona [Shebureh player]; Bona [Sangbai]; Geleh [Gbetei player]
• Museum: Cootje Van Oven Collection
• Accession Number: CVO:290

Related Objects