Mende praise song

Ethnomusicological sound recording made by Cootje van Oven. Mende praise song praising the dancing devil, accompanied by two shegbureh, a European-style side drum and a European-style bass drum. The song sympathises with and praises the devil through the musicians and dancers. There are two young men dancing with the Devil, beating and guiding him with the brooms in hand. The Devil is from Nengbueama village. The shegbureh is featured in the photograph. This instrument, apparently always played by women, is a stalked gourd surrounded by a network of beads or buttons (occasionally shells) 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.

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Further Information

  • Type: Sound Recording, Musical instruments
  • Object: Mende praise song
  • Materials: No Data / Other
  • Culture Group: Mende
  • Dimensions: No Data
  • Production Date: 1966.12.21
  • Associated Places: Banda juma, Sowa Chiefdom, Pujehun District [Place recorded]
  • Associated People: Cootje van Oven [Sound Recordist]; Herb Clark [Sound Recordist]; Nyala Hawa [Lead singer]; Satu [Shegbureh]
  • Museum: Cootje Van Oven Collection
  • Accession Number: CVO:249

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