South African Music Archive Project

A praise song with Kibugandet 5 string wish bone lyre, resonated on a parafin tin. The solo singer, singing in falsetto, praises his country and many of its desirable places. He mentions, among others, the Administrative centre at Kericho, some 25 miles away, which he says is 'full of words', referring to the information service supplied to the country by the office of the District Commissioner. This wishbone shaped frame lyre is help onto the top of an empty 4 gallon parafin tin. At the end of his song the lyre slipped off its resonator.
Details from ILAM field card number: D6L 4

A praise song with a Chepkongo 6 string bowl lyre. The player flips the bridge of the lyre with a finger tip as he plays. The  'Hey - nonny - nonny' words of the song are " Ho - Jambo Bwana". "How do you do, Master."
This was impromptu refering to the recorder of the item. The remainder of the lyric mentions places of mutual interst and affection in the minds of the audience.
Both Kipsigis and Nandi are noted for their patriotism, their love of country as such, which they frequently express in song. This is comparitively rare with Bantu people who do not, as a rule, praise the beauty of the countryside and are mostly insensitive to scenery.
Details from ILAM field card number: D6L 2

A topical song with Kipukandet 6 string bowl lyre (5 or 6 string pentatonic lyre used by Nandi tribe in Kenya, also known as Kibugantet and Chepkong.) One day a friend called on Arap Kapero unexpectedly. He sang "Had I a shilling I would have bought flour to make bread for you." The accompaniment of this song is interesting for the extra half bar just prior to the start of each verse.

A topical song with accordian and struck iron. The accordian is used as a ground which creates a happy noise but has little, if any, melodic or harmonic relationship to the tonality or mode of the voice.
Song to accompany a town dance in which men and women dance together in pairs, after the fashion of Europeans.
Further details refer ILAM field card number: F3B 6

A Zande dance with Kponingbo xylophone (log zylophone with keys on banana stems. The tuning corresponds in absolute pitch with that of harp strings). "Sungi kumba wa sa gasi li Sungi akumba ai gibolo. It is a bad housewife who does not work for a husband. A woman who can't work is no good at all." These loose note xylophones are played by three and sometimes four men sitting on either side of the instrument. The Zande dance is performed in a circle to the cheerful sound of the xylophone. All the dancers move in unison with small steps in a set pattern which ensures that the circle moves around gradually in an anti-clockwise direction. A characteristic gesture by Zande dancers is the holding out of hands, palms upwards, gently raising and lowering the forearms in time with the music.