The (, term adopted in Sotho), and or (

Khoisan Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...

, for a type of bird,Levine, L. (2005). ''The Drum Cafe's Traditional Music of South Africa'', p.115. Jacana Media. . term adopted by the Xhosa and Zulu),Afọlayan (2004), p.234. are members of a class of "unbraced mouth-resonated bow Levine (2005), p.237. with a flattened quill attached to a long

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, stretched over a hard stick, acting as the main source of vibration. Holding both hands around the quill, positioned without touching just inside the lips, the player sharply inhales or exhales against it, creating vibration in the string.Kirby (2009), p.33. This "produces a powerful buzzing sound," usually in short notes on a small, limited

scale Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

. Inhalation excites the harmonics of the string, while exhalation is most often accompanied by a throaty

grunt Grunt, grunts or grunting may refer to: Sound and music * Grunting (tennis), in tennis refers to the loud noise, sometimes described as "shrieking" or "screaming", made by some players during their strokes * Death grunt, the death metal singin ...

, except in players with strong breath,Kirby, Percival (2009). "The ''Gora'', a Stringed-wind Instrument", ''The World of South African Music: A Reader'', p.36. Lucia, Christine; ed. Cambridge. . and may be accompanied by humming. Vocalizations create, from a single player, the effect of more than one part.Coplan, David B. (1994). ''In the Time of Cannibals: The Word Music of South Africa's Basotho Migrants'', p.203. University of Chicago. . The harmonics used are primarily the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth,

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

, tenth, and twelfth. At the other end, in some areas, is a coconut shell resonator, with a tension noose wrapped around the string to adjust the pitch ( Hornbostel-Sachs number: 311.121.222). The lesiba's construction is unique: "no other class of stringed-wind instrument has been found anywhere else in the world." According to Barrow in 1806, the instrument sounds "like the faint murmurs of distant music that 'comes o'er the ear' without any distinction of notes."Kirby (2009), p.32. Barnard in 1910 noted the loudness of the instrument, while Alberti in 1810 compared the sounds to the "tones of the so-called Hunting-horn," presumably a reference to the shared use of the harmonic series. According to Kirby in 1934, "the tone is, when well produced, very pleasant, partaking of the qualities of both string and wind, reminding one of the

Aeolian harp An Aeolian harp (also wind harp) is a musical instrument that is played by the wind. Named for Aeolus, the ancient Greek god of the wind, the traditional Aeolian harp is essentially a wooden box including a sounding board, with strings stretched ...

; and it can be varied in power from a faint whisper to a strong, vibrant sound, the air column of the mouth and throat acting as a resonator."Kirby (2009), p.35. Though very few people alive today play this instrument, the "harsh, bird-like sounds" the instrument produces are so well recognised among the Sotho that it is used on Lesotho Radio to signal the start of the news broadcast. The lesiba is the national instrument of the Basotho, a southern African people, now located primarily in South Africa and

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

, and the Khoikhoi people of South Africa. The lesiba is played mostly by herdsmen and herdboys to give signals and instructions to their cattle, and, almost as much, for their own entertainment. As such, studies of the instrument may be classified as zoomusicology, and passages on the instrument are metaphorically compared to various ''linong'' (). One player, Ntate Thabong Phosa, plays with Sipho Mabuse and can be heard in the song " Thaba Bosiu" on Mabuse's ''Township Child'' album.

References

External links

Recording of lesiba playing
��field recording by Kevin Volans. {{DEFAULTSORT:Goura (Musical Instrument) Aerophones Harmonic series (music) Lesotho music Musical bows Southern African musical instruments

See also

References

External links