Tanzania
Zigula

Wood
ca. Mid-20th century
Length: 26 inches
Chordophone – Zither – Trough/Strick

Trough zithers called ‘inaga’ are a typical musical instrument of several tribes in eastern Tanzania.  A stylized head is carved on top as a finial.  The Zigula are known to craft wooden figures with splayed/straddled legs and weathered patina.  While this inaga has a head finial, the other Zigula inaga in this collection does have the straddled legs and displays the same facial stylization as this one.  The figures are typically used for initiations and sometimes represent ancestors or spirits.