Elma Shaw

Performance Pieces:

Instruments from Liberia’s Cultural Tradition

Music, dance, mystery, a spiritual connection to the earth, and great appreciation for what nature has to offer . . . these are the things that form the center of our celebrations and connect us. For whatever our ethnic identity, whatever our way of dancing or of dressing for the dance, the sounds and beauty created by the instruments made from nature have a way of bringing all of us joy. These photographs show some of the common performance pieces that keep Liberia’s traditional music going.

Bao

Commonly known as a slit-drum, the bao is made from a narrow log or thick bamboo. It is used at social dances of the Gio, who call the wood version “Libao” and the bamboo version “Yellibao.” The slit drum is also used by the Grebo for their traditional war dances.

Sangba

The sangba is used by almost all of Liberia’s ethnic groups at all types of ceremonies, from birth and initiation rites to weddings and funerals. The base of the sangba is always placed between the drummer’s legs, never flat on the ground as doing that would muffle the sound. The drummer beats the drum with his palms and with passion, stirring to a frenzy the feet of cultural dancers clad in their grass skirts and country cloth tops.

Balang

Liberia’s musicians play a variety of string instruments. The balang comes from the Mandingo ethnic group. Its strings are attached to a big hollow gourd and a very long decorative handle. While most of our musical instruments remain in their pure and natural state, sometimes balangs are painted with bright colors and designs.

Gbingbin

The gbingbin can be made from any light weight wood, but Liberia’s master drummers swear that wood from the grapefruit tree makes the best. Goatskin covers each end of this two-headed drum, which is beaten with the hands or with sticks. The name gbingbin comes from the sound the drum makes.

Saasaa

Ahhh, the saasaa! This is the first instrument young girls learn to play and dance to when they join the Sande Society. The gourds grow on small trees and are picked and hollowed out when they are just the right size. To make the rattle, rows of hard seeds or colorful beads are threaded loosely around it. The singers play the saasaa by pulling on the strings while they shake the gourd.

Yomo Gor

The name Yomo Gor refers to any instrument fashioned out of iron. Now that there are hardly any blacksmiths, the Yomo Gor is made from farm tools or old cars. The most common shapes are tubular ones that look much like a twisted muffler pipe.  Mano and Gio musicians use Yomo Gor for stilt dancing and social singing.

Copyright © 2008 Elma Shaw