ABSTRACT
Since the mid-1800s, perceptions about the identity and location of the central part of the African continent have changed repeatedly. Thus, “Central Africa” is not an observational fact but a geographical concept, with social and cultural implications. In Central Africa, people do not merely conceptualize sounds but often verbalize them. Instrumental patterns produced on the Azande harp and box-resonated lamellophone evoke verbal associations, which inspire musician-composers to find new text lines. The linguistic and cultural map of the tropical-rain-forest areas of Central Africa in 3000 B.C.E. differed distinctly from that of the late 1900s. Farther north, among the ethnic group, living in the southwestern corner of the Central African Republic, songs show comparable harmonic clusters. Loango-type lamellophones have a narrow distribution area in Central Africa; they appear mainly along the Loango coast. The history of the lamellophones, like the history of Central African music in general, involves the forces of diffusion, adaptation, and innovation.
