Mende song

Ethnomusicological recording made by Cootje van Oven. Mende song accompanied by three "shake shake" (shegbureh). The photograph shows the all-female performers and their instruments. The meaning of the song is: "If Chief Kabbeh laughs he will laugh, if not he will not". The leading singer/player went to England with the Sierra Leone National Dance Troupe. What is called "shake shake" here but is normally known among Mende musicians as a shegbureh, is a stalked gourd surrounded by a network of beads or buttons on strings. The end of the strings is held in one hand, the stalk of the gourd in the other. Rhythmic movements of the gourd produce the desired rattle of the beads or buttons against the gourd. The instrument appears to be played by women only. Measurements of one of these three shegbureh: height of gourd measured around the curve 11", length of stalk 4.5". Corresponding measurements of both of the others: 10" and 5".

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Further Information

• Type: Sound Recording, Musical instruments
• Object: Mende song
• Materials: No Data / Other
• Culture Group: Mende
• Dimensions: No Data
• Production Date: 1966.12.20
• Associated Places: Sahn, Malen Chiefdom, Pujehun District [Place Recorded] [Origin of item]
• Associated People: Cootje van Oven [Sound Recordist]; Herb Clark [Sound Recordist]; Ami Kebbei [Lead singer and shegbureh]; Musu Kallon and Fatu Sani [Singers and shegbureh players]
• Museum: Cootje Van Oven Collection
• Accession Number: CVO:228

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