Africa’s musical heritage in vibration

Titled Vibrations, an exhibition of about 100 African indigenous musical instruments at the UJ Art Gallery is the continent’s musical heritage brought to a collective visual consciousness.

It’s the notion of seeing sound and feeling its spiritual echo. And herein are multiple identities, connected and evolved. The different kinds of mbira (thumb piano), musical bows and drums and their various names according to region, for example, speak to a history of ancestral lineages and linkages. A record just as strong as oral history.

The exhibition showcases the beauty of African cultures and how music was an integral part of nuanced ways of life. And in that beauty lies ingenuity.

I was amazed to find out that lelwala/tshilwana — grinding stones that our grandmothers in Sotho and Tswana cultures used to grind grains and tea leaves — are a musical instrument. The ceramic prowess of the Udu drum of Nigeria’s Igbo people is also a beautiful piece of art.

The opening of the exhibition featured a concert by musician, cultural elder and preserver of traditional music instruments Professor Dizu Plaatjies, who during the performance told anecdotes of the daily importance of instruments such as Uhadi (resonator bow) and Umrhube (mouth bow).

Culturally reserved for women and young girls, the Uhadi was often used to check on the state of a growing baby in the womb in the absence of gynaecologists. A pregnant woman would be taken to a separate hut and a single vibration from the Uhadi string would often elicit a kick from the baby.

Uhadi and Umrhube have been brought to contemporary visibility and growing prominence due to the work of masters of Xhosa musical instruments such as the late Madosini and Mantombi Matotiyana who in 2019 released her debut album at the age of 87. And a host of young musicians including Msaki, Neo Muyanga and Thandiswa Mazwai who feature the instruments in their bodies of work and live performances.

Multi-instrumentalist Pops Mohamed has also been very influential in the preservation of indigenous instruments and bringing them to a younger generation through albums such as The Fucha Rist, Ancestral Healing and Healing Sounds from Mother Africa.

The Vibrations exhibition — a project by The Music in Africa Foundation — is a major extension on the work of these preservers on a wider scale.

For curator, multifaceted Lesotho artist Mpho Molikeng — who curated the collection according to what was available and relevant — it was important for the exhibition to stand out for its distinct cultural perspective and experience.

But the work is seemingly not done. The exhibition is part of and a culmination of a bigger project that is ongoing. Project manager, Violet Maila from Music in Africa gives more insight.

What questions prompted the inception of this project? What is its impetus?

The Music In Africa Foundation’s Instrument Building and Repair (IBR) project was born out of key questions around the preservation, innovation, and accessibility of African musical instruments. The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) recognised a gap in knowledge, skills, and resources related to the making and maintenance of traditional African instruments. The project was designed to address the following critical questions:

• How can we ensure that Africa’s indigenous instrument-building traditions are preserved and passed on to future generations?
• How can we create economic opportunities for instrument makers?
• How do we bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary and ring the instruments into today?

With these questions in mind, the project aims to not only safeguard African musical heritage, but to also retain a skill and have instrument makers learn the building of these instruments skillfully with opportunities to earn revenue. There is also opportunity to inspire new generations of musicians and craftsmen to engage with these instruments in meaningful ways.

How did it begin?

The project officially launched in 2016 with support from the National Lotteries Commission. It kicked off with research into African instrument-making traditions, skills gaps and market potential.

From there, MIAF engaged a network of experienced instrument builders to develop a structured training programme where we train people to build and repair selected African instruments.

We have trained builders on mbira, marimba and Umakhweyane, to name a few. The first major milestone was creating videos on how to build the instruments from beginning to end. These are available on our website, https://www.musicinafrica.net/ibr

This year is the first year we have been able to offer the Vibrations African Instruments Exhibition in Joburg.

What did the process reveal?

The process unearthed several critical insights:

• A wealth of indigenous knowledge exists but is at risk. Many traditional techniques are passed down orally and lack formal documentation, making them vulnerable to being lost.
• There is growing interest from younger generations. While traditional instrument-making has often been seen as a niche craft, there is renewed enthusiasm, especially when linked to contemporary music production.
• There is commercial potential. Beyond preservation, the project revealed a market for African instruments both locally and internationally, signalling an opportunity to develop new economic models for instrument makers.

The exhibition feels like a beginning. What does the life of this project look like beyond this exhibition?

The exhibition is indeed just the starting point. The IBR project is designed to be an ongoing initiative with multiple phases. The long-term dream and goal is to extend the project beyond SA, engaging with instrument builders across the continent to create a broader knowledge-sharing network.

Ultimately, the IBR project is about ensuring that African instruments remain relevant, accessible, and appreciated — not just in museums but in everyday musical practice.

Vibrations is on at UJ Art Gallery until March 14.