Ambira

Ambira 1. sansa of Mozambique; 2. 9-pronged African sansa mentioned by João dos Santos in 1586; 3. Dos Santos' name for a xylophone of the Karanga of Ethiopia, with gourd resonators and spider's-egg membrane. He reported that the treble keys were on the left and were struck with beaters having knobs made of balls of sinew. Today the beaters have rubber heads and the instr. is known as mbila, a var. of ambira (116). Kirby, Percival R. The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South Africa…