ABSTRACT
The music of the San people, a group of hunters and gatherers that live in the Southern African countries of Angola, Botswana, and Namibia, is characterized by the use of an instrument called the musical bow, illustrated in Figure 16.1. is instrument consists of a bow, such as one might use for hunting, with a tight string attached to the two ends. In addition, a gourd attached to the bow is used to create a resonating cavity to produce a particular tone and timbre. One rather unique tradition of these hunter-gatherers, called kambulumbumba, involves three individuals playing one bow simultaneously.*
One player, while securing the bow with his feet and mouth, plays the le most rhythm in Figure 16.2 by striking the string with a stick. is rhythm sets up an isochronous steady regular rhythm [3-3-3-3] with four beats per cycle. Another musician plays the rhythm in the center, also with a stick, but on the upper end of the bow. is rhythm has ve onsets with intervals [3-3-2-2-2]. e rst three onsets of the latter rhythm coincide with the rst three onsets of the former rhythm. However, the last two onsets at pulses 8 and 10 fall in
between the regular beat, and are therefore o-beat. e third performer plays the rightmost rhythm in Figure 16.2 also with a stick, in between the other two players.
