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Instrument: Musical Bow |
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The musical bow is an ancient, single-stringed instrument made from a curved wooden staff. Usually, a half-gourd or other resonator is attached to the bow to amplify the sound. It has been played for millennia in Africa, Australia as well as in some regions of Europe, Asia and North America. Similar instruments are illustrated in rock paintings dating back to 15,000 BC, as found in France at the caves of Les Trois Freres.
Holding the gourd resonator against your chest, you strike the string with a stick or bow, while pressing coins, rocks or other objects against the string with the other hand to change its pitch. Shells or metal pieces are sometimes tied to the string to create a buzzing sound quality.
Instrument or weapon? During the 19th and early 20th centuries, music scholars argued about the origins of this and countless other instruments, debating whether the musical instrument and the hunting bow developed simultaneously or independently. Whatever its source, the musical bow's legacy |
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is closely linked to the diverse traditions of Africa, Japan, Greece and some First Nations communities in the American Southwest.
The musical bow is probably best known in connection with the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira, which Guilherme dos Santos Barbosa calls "a vital reflection of the history and culture" of Brazil. Capoeira is partly a celebration, partly a virtuousic dance, and partly a defensive form of ground fighting. Its name likely comes from the Angolan Bantu word kapwera, which translates as "vibrating" or "unexpected". Once banned in Brazil, this centuries-old art form gained government recognition as an official sport in 1972. The Brazilian musical bow, the berimbau is made from a branch of the biriba tree and a calabash gourd. Played with tambourine and other rhythmic instruments, it provides a musical and rhythmic pulse which are essential to this acrobatic form of martial arts.
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