The wazza, also referred to as al-Wazza, is a type of
natural horn
The natural horn is a musical instrument that is the predecessor to the modern-day (French) horn (differentiated by its lack of valves). Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth century the natural horn evolved as a separation from the trump ...
played in
Sudanese music. The wazza is a long
wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...
, constructed by joining several wooden tubes to form an elaborate gourd trumpet, and while blown, it is also tapped for percussive effect. Characteristically, it has been used by the
Berta people
The Berta (Bertha) or Funj are an ethnic group living along the border of Sudan and Ethiopia. They speak a Nilo-Saharan language that is not related to those of their Nilo-Saharan neighbors ( Gumuz, Uduk). Their total Ethiopian population is abou ...
of the
Blue Nile State
Blue Nile ( ar, النيل الأزرق ') is one of the eighteen States of Sudan, states of the Republic of the Sudan. It was established by presidential decree nº 3 in 1992 and is named after the Blue Nile River.
The region is host to around ...
in Sudan.
Before it can be played, the instrument must be made wet with water, so it produces its intended sound. Several wazza trumpets of different sizes and tone ranges are used simultaneously by several players, performing their sounds in African
polyrhythmic
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...
patterns.
[Susannah Wright. ''Sudan''. (Ebiz Guides). Madrid: MTH Multimedia S.L., 2005. , . p. 205.]
See also
*
Music of Sudan
The rich and varied music of Sudan has traditional, rural, northeastern African roots and also shows Arabic, Western or other African influences, especially on the popular urban music from the early 20th century onwards. Since the establis ...
References
External links
Waza trumpet returns as residents in Sudan's Blue Nile region mark end of harvest, video on YouTube*Free download from
Smithsonian Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.
History
The Folkways Records & Service ...
of the son
“Ya Musa. Waza-Ensemble”
Arabic musical instruments
Natural horns and trumpets
Sudanese musical instruments
African musical instruments
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