My harp, you are the beginning and end of all things, and the canoe of live
--A poem by the Tsogo peoples, who live in the country of Gabon.

African musicians use stringed instruments to accompany songs that pass on information to those who are listening. For example, a harp might be used for songs that tell the history of a people, a town, or a family. Or it might be used for poems or stories that are sung. These instruments can also communicate with ancestors. They can be played alone or in small groups, but they are usually not combined with other types of instruments. The person playing the instrument often sings along as well.

The Mangbetu use harps for entertainment. The musicians who play them are sometimes part of a , but they can also be independent musicians who wander from town to town to perform.

People today think that the figure on the neck of these harps represents Queen Nenzima, who was chief adviser to four kings between 1875 and 1926.

Image Credit:
Harp, made by the Mangbetu peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the twentieth century. Made of ivory, plant fiber and wood.
Lent by the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, gift of Helen and Dr. Robert Kuhn, X86.1851; photograph by Don Cole.

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