Vai song

Ethnomusicological sound recording made by Cootje van Oven. Vai traditional song accompanied by three shegbureh (Mende, spoken in Zimmi). The meaning of the song is: "I want to escort a certain friend so I can t stop now, but I ll be returning". The people of Zimmi are Gola on the whole, but the spoken language there is Mende. The song takes the form of a conversation between Bessie Kohma and Amahtu. The shegbureh, apparently always played by women, is a stalked gourd surrounded by a network of beads, buttons or 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 etc. against the gourd.

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Further Information

• Type: Sound Recording, Musical instruments
• Object: Vai song
• Materials: No Data / Other
• Culture Group: Vai, Mende, Gola
• Dimensions: No Data
• Production Date: 1966.12.23
• Associated Places: Zimmi, Makpele Chiefdom, Pujehun District [Place Recorded] [Origin of item]
• Associated People: Cootje van Oven [Sound Recordist]; Herb Clark [Sound Recordist]; Bessie Kohma [Shegbureh]; Amahtu [Shegbureh]; Hara Sehmula [Shegbureh]
• Museum: Cootje Van Oven Collection
• Accession Number: CVO:281

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