Udu
Udu ( Igbo ), also kimkim (in Kaduna ), abang ( Ibibio ) or ikoko-ilu ( Yoruba ), is an idiophonic beat made of baked clay that is played in Nigeria . The udu is a beating pot in the form of a bulbous vase with another opening on the side.
Udu means "jug" in the Igbo language . Traditionally, it is mainly used by women for dance accompaniment, for rhythmic accompaniment of their own singing and in different orchestral formations. The Igbo believed they heard the voices of their ancestors in the sound of these drums.
A quick tap on the side opening creates a sound that resembles the bass sound of an Indian tabla . In addition, the entire body can be played with with the fingers or with the whole hand. Usually both hands hit the side and the top opening alternately, closing the openings briefly. This creates air movements inside, which produce a variety of sound effects. The clay pot is played while standing under the left forearm or while sitting on the lap. It can also be placed on the floor with standing rings.
There are different variations like the udu utar , which has a flatter shape, and the udu udongo , which consists of two interconnected sound bodies.
The Nigerian author Chinua Achebe mentions in his book Things Fall Apart (1958) the udu together with the small single hand bell ogene (related to the double hand bell gankogui ) and the slotted drum ekwe . A somewhat larger clay pot without a lateral sound opening in Togo is called atukpen . A comparable instrument in South India is called ghatam .
literature
- David W. Ames, Ken A. Gourlay: Kimkim: A Women's Musical Pot. In: African Arts , Vol. 11, No. January 2, 1978, pp. 56-64, 95f
- Gerhard Kubik : West Africa. Music history in pictures. Volume 1: Ethnic Music. Delivery 11. VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1989, p. 72f
Web links
- Sound sample for a Udu at schlagwerk.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003, p. 111