Musical Instruments of the Indigenous People of South Africa. Percival Kirby
I myself have heard similar signals beaten under similar circumstances in Bavendaland.
Junod48 describes similar drums which are used by the Thonga. The largest of these is ‘made from a hollowed stem’, and is in shape ‘like an ordinary mortar; or it may be rounded, and even provided with three legs’. The head is of a buffalo, ox, or antelope hide, or of the skin of an elephant’s ear. It is called muntshintshi; or the big drum, and it is subject to several taboos, among which is one which prohibits any one from looking inside the instrument if the skin should crack. Again, at Shiluvane, East Africa, people say that a bullet is introduced into the shell when it is being made. This last may be compared with the Venda practice of placing stones in the ngoma. Regarding the uses to which this drum is put, Junod mentions three; to announce a great fatality, to summon warriors to the capital in case of imminent war, and to execute various musical performances, such as the nkino or harvest-thanksgiving dance, on which occasion it is accompanied by a smaller drum, the shikolombane, called the ‘son’ of the big one, which is more elongated and has no legs. In this dance these drums accompany the horn ensemble called bunanga (vide p. 122). As the whole idea of this ensemble very forcibly suggests Venda influence, and as the muntshintshi and shikolombane appear to be the ngoma and murumbu in disguise, I would suggest that these drums have been adopted by the Thonga from the Venda, more particularly as the Thonga have a drum of a very different nature which is associated with witchcraft, and is, moreover, characteristic of their race. This drum is called the mantshomane. It is shaped exactly like a tambourine, being made from a hoop of wood about two and a half inches wide, and about one-fifth of an inch thick, the ends being skived away, lapped, and joined by iron wire. The shaping of this hoop is done with the usual African adze. The single head is usually of goat or buckskin with the hair removed, the outer side of the skin being uppermost. This is placed in position while wet, the overlapping portions being cut into strips which are twisted into cords and laced over the under side to hold the head firmly in its place, as well as to afford a grip for the hand. In addition to this lacing pegs are driven through the skin into holes that have been made round the rim of the hoop. Two specimens of the mantshomane are shown in Figures 2.19 and 2.20. In performance the drum is held in the left hand by the hand-grip of lacing, the longer fingers reaching the under side of the head, and pressing upon it at times in order temporarily to raise the pitch of the instrument. It is beaten with a stick held in the right hand, about a foot long, the striking end being slightly flattened so that a considerable surface comes into contact with the drum-head. The resulting tone is very sharp and powerful. Usually a number of these instruments are played together, care being taken that they are tuned as nearly as possible to the same pitch, by being heated over a fire. They are played, as a rule, by women, as an accompaniment to songs or dances, although they are also used by themselves in groups as an instrumental ensemble. A band of women mantshomane players, whom I heard at Mohlaba’s location at Thabina, executed a number of drum pieces, which consisted chiefly of the long-continued repetition of one rhythm. One of these was as follows:
Figure 2.19. Thonga mantshomane, front view. Photograph by W. P. PAFF.
Figure 2.20. Thonga mantshomane, back view. Photograph by W. P. PAFF.
The effect of this, executed by six drummers, was hypnotic and very exciting. This explains the use of the mantshomane in the exorcizing of the evil spirits which are believed to ‘possess’ certain of the Thonga from time to time. Junod49 has given a particularly full description of the whole subject, but although he mentions a drum, and its connexion with the proceedings, he does not give its name. The mantshomane is introduced at the first stage of the exorcism, which is called gongondjela, or the drum performance. The gobela, or exorcist in chief, first ‘throws the bones’ to determine where the ceremony shall take place, and according to the way in which they fall, the drumming may be executed in the hut of the afflicted person, in the doorway of the hut, in the village square, or in the bush. The doctor strikes the first note on his drum, which is generally covered with leguan or python skin instead of goat or buckskin. Every one within hearing, on recognizing the signal, seizes hold of either a mantshomane with its beater, or, failing the proper instrument, a substitute in the shape of a petrol tin, or a calabash rattle, called ndjele (vide p. 10) and, rushing to the spot, joins in the hypnotic and frenzied rhythm which serves as an accompaniment to the songs of exorcism. The object of the gongondjela is to compel the evil spirit to reveal its name, and to come forth from the possessed person, who, as a result of the long-continued drumming and singing has gradually got into a critical state of ‘nervous exaltation’, as Junod puts it. The gongondjela often lasts for a considerable time, from a day or two to a fortnight. The performers upon the mantshomane and ndjele shown in Figure 2.21 executed the following rhythms with astonishing verve:
Figure 2.21. Thonga men playing upon mantshomane and ndjele. Photograph by W. P. PAFF.
I have already pointed out that the Swazi have copied this method of exorcizing evil spirits from the Thonga, using their own intambula for the purpose, as well as tins, and I have even obtained a specimen of an actual mantshomane made and played by a ‘pure’ Swazi. This instrument, which was called ubhababa by the Swazi owner, who was a doctor, is about fifteen inches in diameter, and is covered with a goatskin which is pegged to the circular hoop, the lacing being also present at the back. The ubhababa was used to exorcize demons. The Swazi believe, like the Thonga, that these spirits, whom they also call mandiki, are the spirits of dead enemies of their race.
Major Harries50 describes how, while encamped at Tshaula in Bavendaland (vide p. 220), he heard the distant and long-continued beating of drums, and on inquiry was told that the doctor was trying to remove an evil influence from a woman who had incurred the anger of the spirits. This is, of course, the Thonga practice, but I have no doubt that in this instance the doctor was a Thonga (although Harries does not mention the fact), since, as I shall show, Thonga doctors are highly respected all over the Transvaal, and, further, the village of Tshaula lies in that part of Bavendaland which is contiguous with Thonga territory. But the instruments used were undoubtedly Venda drums, as Harries’s account shows, and the whole ceremony, which is very fully described, clearly indicates the borrowing of a Thonga practice by the Venda. Many Thonga doctors have a great reputation outside their own country, so it is not surprising to find the mantshomane used by one of their number who has settled among people of another race. One such drum I possess; it was obtained from a doctor in Sekukuniland, the country of the Pedi. It is of large size, the head being of buckskin. The doctor who formerly owned it used to employ it in his cures, especially when he desired to remove a headache from a patient! His method of doing this was to dance up to the unfortunate and strike violent blows upon his mantshomane close to the patient’s ear-drum, when the headache was supposed to leave him! Another celebrated doctor, Resenge by name, resides at the royal kraal of Sibasa, paramount chief of the Venda. He possesses two beautiful specimens of the mantshomane, covered with python-skin (Python sebae)