ABSTRACT
The Timhila of the Chopi are perhaps the most interesting of the musical instruments of the southern Bantu. The Chopi Ngodo with its full orchestra and dancers is almost unique. The Chopi xylophones, Timbila, are made primarily to be played in ensembles and not for solo work, although naturally, individual musicians are found playing by themselves, and a solo instrument is said to accompany Ngalagga, children's dances with drums. In Zavala and Banguza's villages the instruments show particularly high craftsmanship. At Zavala nearly all the instruments were made by Katini weNyamombe and his son Katinyana. The Timbila notes of the Chopi are broader and somewhat longer than those of European xylophones. The tuning of the gourds is, of course, affected by temperature in the same way as all wind instruments are affected. The Chopi musicians well know the effect of heat upon the tone of their Timbila.
