Southeast Angola

Mbunda

Wood, rubber
Mid 20th century
Length: 22 in, Width: 7 in, Height: 11 in
Idiophone – Struck Directly – Slit Drum

The Mbunda (Vambunda, Mbúùnda or Chimbúùnda) are a Bantu speaking people who came from the north to south-eastern Angola and finally Barotseland, which is now part of Zambia. Their core is at present found in the south-east of Angola from the Lunguevungu river in Moxico to the Cuando Cubango Province. The mbunda are comprised of several (eight) subgroups, each of which speaks its own dialect. This slit drum is carved from one piece of wood with representative ancestral figure heads at each end.