Kiringi
Kiringi , also Krin, (different spelling Crin ), Kele; are wooden slit drums from Sierra Leone and Guinea .
The idiophonic impact instruments , which are designated differently from region to region, belong to the predominant genus in Africa, the lip or tongue slit drums. Kiringis are made from an average 50 centimeter long tree trunk. This is hollowed out in the middle and provided with three radially extending longitudinal slots. This results in two free-swinging wooden panels, the width and length of which are decisive for the pitch. Kiringis are idiophones that are not pitched at a fixed pitch.
Designs and style of play
The wooden panels with a width of five to ten centimeters serve as playing surfaces and are played with simple or rubber-tipped wooden mallets. Thinner tongues give a higher pitch.
Kiringis are played in traditional African music as solo instruments or to accompany the balafon and djembé . The Kpelle , whose main settlement is in Forest Guinea , usually use three to four slotted drums with different pitch. As when playing the bass drums (Dunduns) in Guinea , a very large, deep-sounding and up to a meter long krin with a diameter of 30 to 45 centimeters is often combined with a medium and a small, high-sounding krin that is 35 to 45 centimeters long and 10 to 15 inches thick. This creates a polyrhythmic interplay of three krins sounding differently high, each with two to five different sound options.
Traditionally, the slit drums are played while sitting on the floor, tucked between the legs, but it is possible to put them in stands and play while standing.
literature
- Curt Sachs : Kiringi . In: Real Lexicon of Musical Instruments. Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim 1972, p. 212
