Southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Kuba

Wood, bamboo
Mid 20th Century
Length: 11 inches x Width: 7.5 inches x Depth: 3.5 inches
Idiophone – Plucked – Lamellophone

The sanza is an instrument of the family of idiophones and the subfamily of lamellophones.   This is a Kuba sanza with eleven (11) bamboo tines (lamellaes/keys).   Each tine produces a different note.   Traditionally, the sanza is played to attract the ancestors. Many sanzas feature elegant cravings and symbolic motifs meant to honor the ancestors as seen on this Kuba sanza. Through the instrument, the traditional values of the ancestors can be honored and kept alive.

The Kuba (also called Bakuba) people are agriculturalist and a cluster of Bushong-speaking ethnic groups of the larger Bantu ethnicity living in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  They always refer to themselves as the Bakuba which translates to “people of the throwing knife.”  The Kuba believe supernatural powers are the basis for the beliefs, spells, witchcraft, and channels between the living and the dead.   are some of these powers.  This sanze is a part of the paraphernalia used in their endeavor to honor their ancestor.