KALIMBA MBIRA VINTAGE, 43 years nhare D tuning , finger piano, african mbira, thumb piano, african musical instrument,

KALIMBA MBIRA VINTAGE, 43years, Nhare in D tuning , finger piano, african
mbira, thumb piano, african musical instrument,

The Maker

Made in 1979 by Mukucha Murevanhema (a big name in the mbira circles) who was
born in 1930 and started playing the mbira in 1947.

The Chirandu heart symbolism

The Chirandu engraved at the back of the mbira and the heart signifies the
love of his totem, the Shoko Mbire group originate from the Moyo Chirandu.

The last Bantu group to cross the Zambezi into Zimbabwe from the North East
was the Shoko Mbire group. Their paramount chief was called Mwene Mbire or
simply Nembire.

This group arrived around 1000 AD. Their totem was Shoko Matarira Chirongo or
simply Mukanya meaning baboon/monkey, that's where the totem name is derived
from. It is responsible for the making of the vast Great Zimbabwe empire which
became the original capital city of Zimbabwe " the house of stones.

A unique piece

This is a rare find, collectible treasure and despite its age you will fall in
love with the deep , quality original , matured sound after 43 years! It is a
piece of our African musical history, during the pre-independence era.

The tines are made from spring metal, which is a strong material which
originally and traditionally was used to make mbiras.

The back and front interlocking wire construction is synonymous with that era.

Roots of the Mbira

With its roots from the Southern African region, the mbira, kalimba musical
instrument is believed to have been in existence for more than a thousand years
to this period and more developed in Zimbabwe, particularly among the
Shona-speaking people.

Other variations of mbira were made in Zambia such as karimba, mucapata and
sansa in Tanzania and kalimbe in central Africa. Now, the African instrument is
being produced in European and Asian countries as a thumb piano.

Mbira is more than just an instrument. In Zimbabwe it carries a significant
role in the country’s tradition and culture, and carries a traditional musical
identity.

Because of the traditional history of mbira, today people think every mbira
player as a spirit medium, which is not the case. “It does not mean every mbira
player is a spirit medium, if that were the case we would have seen a lot of
foreigners being spirit mediums of African ancestors. It is just like any other
musical instrument like a guitar or a piano and of course because of its
soothing sound can be used for meditation and as background music for yoga
lovers.