The umuduri is a
Burundi
Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
an and
Rwanda
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
n stringed instrument. It is a
musical bow consisting of a string supported by a flexible wooden string bearer or bow that is 125–135 cm in length.
The string is traditionally made from plant fiber and animal gut. However, metal wire is becoming widespread.
Construction and design
A
gourd
Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly '' Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds ha ...
is attached to in the bow to act as a resonator. A wooden stick and the inzebe
rattle are also used. Two loops bring the string closer to the bow, the third (attached to the gourd resonator by a cord) divides the string into two unequal lengths. This creates two different
notes, usually a
fourth or a
fifth, as
fundamental notes. To keep the resonator and the musical bow apart, a cloth or a pad of banana peel is placed between the two to ensure that there is no direct contact between the bow and the gourd that might interfere with production of
sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...
.
Playing technique
To play the instrument, the bow is held in the left hand vertically in front of the body and the gourd is pressed against the body. A thin stick, used to strike the string, and an inzebe rattle are held in the right hand. In addition to the two fundamental notes that the string produces, the upper (longer) part of the string can be shortened using the index or middle finger, resulting in three notes: second/fourth or fifth.
Cultural significance
The umuduri is made by the
Twa but used by the
Hutu. Along with the
ikembe, the umuduri was introduced to Rwanda in the early twentieth century. It is played at festivals and official ceremonies; such as the ikinimba, which is a dance accompanied by instruments to tell the stories of kings and heroes of Rwanda. It is played alone, without accompaniment, and is used throughout a variety of genres.
See also
*
Music of Rwanda
The music of Rwanda encompasses Rwandan traditions of folk music as well as contemporary East African Afrobeat and Congolese ndombolo, and performers of a wide variety of Western genres including hip-hop, Rhythm and blues, R&B, gospel music and po ...
References
Central African Republic musical instruments
Musical bows
Music of Rwanda
{{Zither-instrument-stub