Marimba

Marimba [?Bantu imba, song], 1. xylophone of Africa, recorded in the Congo from the 17th c. on and still played there and in Angola by a number of peoples, including the Azande, Babunda, and Baluba. Each slab is provided with a gourd resonator. See also: madimba; 2. in certain regions of the Congo River the name is applied to the sansa, as for example by the Bangalo. Buonanni in 1722 called the sansa marimba dei Cafri; 3. introduced to America possibly in pre-Columbian times (105) or by the…