Mbila dzamadeza

Table of contents

Introduction

This instrument class, along with its companion mbila dzamadeza (bass on right), represents the mbila dzamadeza type of mbira (lamellophone) from Vhembe district in Limpopo province, South Africa.

It is recorded as an instrument played by both Venda and Lemba people, and is closely related to the mbira dzavadzimu. The instrument and part of its repertoire are believed to have been transmitted southwards in the wake of early Shona migrations and their role in the complex process of Venda ethnogenesis.

Andrew Tracey explains that the name Mbila dzamadeza can be translated as "mbila of calabashes" and was used to differentiate it from the now extinct Venda xylophone known as mbila mutondo - "mbila of mutondo (wood)" made from Pterocarpus angolensis species (Mutondo/Mukwa/Kiaat). Mbila is the Tshivenda orthographic equivalent of mbira in chiShona. Mbila dzamadeza is also known informally as mbila deza or just deza / deze.

Mbila dzamadeza (bass on left) with extra manuals
by James Munyai

Many different variations of key layout have been recorded for mbila dzamadeza, with older instruments being most variant. In The Original African Mbira?, Andrew Tracey notes that he knows of no other mbira type in the extended Zambezi Valley area in which 'left-handed' (bass-on-right) and 'right-handed' (bass-on-left) versions exist.

Mbila dzamadeza (bass on left)
by James Munyai
    
Mbila dzamadeza (bass on right) with extra manual(s)
from Limpopo province (TIC 126)

He proposes that these two subtypes originated from two different early types of mbira dzavadzimu, an earlier type with bass keys on the right hand side of the instrument, and a slightly later type where the bass keys had been transferred to the left hand side. During its long history of relative isolation from the central Shona tradition (estimated to be at least 350 years) both subtypes of mbila dzamadeza have undergone further development.

Function and Repertoire
In Squaring the Circle (available from the author on request via SR), Klaus-Peter Brenner quotes John Blacking that [unlike the mbira dzavadzimu], "the Venda (and Lemba) mbila dzamadeza, being merely used for 'amusements etc.', has no such religious or political functions whatsoever. The description of this mbila from UW's Ethnomusicology Archives, however, states that "the Lemba people (one of several nations in Venda) also use this instrument for possession (not all nations of Venda do so)".

Most of the currently documented repertoire comes from Andrew Tracey's field research in 1987. Many pieces can be assigned to two broad groupings:

At least one piece, Baranganani Mudzanani's Bidera, combines both systems, as analysed by Brenner in Squaring the Circle.
Subtypes
Significantly more examples of the bass-on-left subtype are found in Tracey's fieldwork than bass-on-right, possibly indicating a greater prevalence. To keep the notation manageable and the user interface concise, they are treated as separate instrument classes and the suffix "(bass on left)" is omitted for the presumably more common class:
  1. Mbila dzamadeza. The bass-on-left subtype. Its features include:
    • mid-range left manual that usually follows the same characteristic pattern (1-5-4-6-7) as its equivalent on mbira dzavadzimu.
      Only one of the about 15 bass-on-left instruments considered so far has an ascending scale, like the bass-on-right type.
    • lower left manual following the same pattern, resulting in octave pairs in the middle and bass manuals placed together, with the lower key of each pair positioned to the right.
    • pitches 2 and 3 shifted to the extreme left of the lower left hand manual.
    • occasionally a right hand low RT3 key, as on mbira dzavadzimu.
    • extra right and left upper manuals.
  2. Mbila dzamadeza (bass on right). Features of this subtype include:
    • low RT3 key of some bass-on-left instrument dropped.
    • both mid-range and low manuals arranged in sequential ascending order (1-2-3-4-5-6-7).
    • one old example with extra upper manual(s).
An obvious question is the connection between the two subtypes and the physical handedness of player. The instruments considered so far give no indications of a direct connection. Even for two specimens that were converted from bass-on-left to bass-on-right, the reasons remain unclear.
Notations
There are two notations: All instruments have three manuals (B, R, and RT/RI), some have upper extra manuals (RX and LX, the latter seems more frequent).
  • RX: Upper right extra manual
  • RI: Keys of the (lower) right manual played with the index finger
  • RT: Keys of the (lower) right manual played with the thumb
    The transition point between thumb and index finger varies from player to player. Generally, the first three keys RT1..3 seem to be played with the thumb, on one mbira catalogue item up to RT5.
  • LX: Top left thumb extra manual
  • L: Mid-range left thumb manual
  • B: Bottom left thumb manual
All notations are convertible to and from Pitch+Octaves. If a direct translation between two notations is not available, use an intermediate step across Pitch+Octaves.

Click on the tabs below for a description of each notation:

Like Pitch+Octaves notation, but octave indication is omitted where can be deduced from the playing area. If a manual contains the same pitch class twice, the less frequently used key gets the octave indication.

Caveat: The notation uses two single quotes (''), not a double quote (") for the highest register.

Key Overview
The table below shows all keys of the notation, from lowest to highest. Each row contains all possible keys for that playing area. Each column contains all keys of the same pitch.

Not all instruments may have keys matching all these notes. Red notes are alias names for the same key, if it can be played with different fingers.

Hosho.
RX56712345''
RI34567123''4''5''
RT3/12345
LX1234
L1345671'2
B12,3,4567236/
Aliases
The table below lists all alias keys. Row names are shown in black, cell content in red.
KeyAliasNotes
RT3/L3RT3/ key played with the left thumb
RT3RI3RT3 key played with the index finger instead of the thumb
RI4RT4RI4 key played with the thumb instead of the index finger
RI5RT5RI5 key played with the thumb instead of the index finger

The numbers denote scale degrees (1-7) of the mbila's seven tone scale, starting with 1 as the lowest tone of both the L and B registers. Apostrophes and commas indicate the octave position relative to the middle register. e.g. 1, 1 1' 1''.

Caveat: The notation uses two single quotes (''), not a double quote (") for the highest register.

Key Overview
The table below shows all keys of the notation, from lowest to highest. Each row contains all possible keys for that playing area. Each column contains all keys of the same pitch.

Not all instruments may have keys matching all these notes. Red notes are alias names for the same key, if it can be played with different fingers.

Hosho.
RX5'6'7'1''2''3''4''5''
RI3'4'5'6'7'1''2''3''4''5''
RT31'2'3'4'5'
LX1'2'3'4'
L1345671'2'
B1,2,3,4,5,6,7,236
Aliases
The table below lists all alias keys. Row names are shown in black, cell content in red.
KeyAliasNotes
RT3L3RT3 key played with the left thumb
RT3'RI3'RT3' key played with the index finger instead of the thumb
RI4'RT4'RI4' key played with the thumb instead of the index finger
RI5'RT5'RI5' key played with the thumb instead of the index finger