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Nigeria > Africa

Instruments

Name: Ndeng Ndeng

Type: Raft zither > Chordophone

Region: Nigeria > West Africa.

Source: A friend of mine.

Description: The ndeng-ndeng a raft zither who is played amongst the Angas people. In who they play the zither facing away from the body. Also the ndeng-ndeng is played by plucking with the fingers only and not the thumb.

Construction: The term "raft zither" is a family of instrument in who are classified as raft zither because they resemble a raft in their construction. In the case of the ndeng-ndeng each individual string stripped from the same piece of bamboo which it came from and then wrapped around with rattan on both the string to increase sturdyness and also the volume when played. The rattan is also used to hold the string in place with the rest of the ndeng ndeng. Rattan is the material predominantly used to bind and secure the instrument together.

Citations: New Grove Dictionary of Music book G to O page - 753.