{"id":"MBENDJE2016-001","label":"Banzèbi roarer of the Chaillu hills","people_or_site":"Banzèbi (Nzebi, Bandzabi)","country_current":"Gabon","historic_region":"Southern Massif du Chaillu, Ngounié and Ogooué-Lolo (Koulamoutou–Pana to Mbigou–Lébamba)","macroregion":"Africa / Central Africa","local_name":"","source_term":"rhombe; joamiala","source_language":"French","object_description":"A wooden blade about 15 cm long on a cord, whirled to give a drone.","function_summary":"Shared with the Mahongwé, Bekwil and Pové: frightens by its noise and is sounded at the secret bongoja dance, held to get at the truth, while anyone not concerned stays at home.","attestation_type":"secondary_catalog","source_key":"mbendje2016_laban_joamiala_banzebi","source_type":"comparative_secondary","source_url":"https://bantoozone.org/culture-art-gabon-afrique/joamiala-le-rhombe-musique-du-gabon/","page_or_plate":"Joamiala entry (Ethnies; Fonctions); Collomb 1979 p. 89","map_confidence":"medium","plot_status":"plot_with_caveat","coordinate_basis":"Mbigou (Ngounié; Nominatim), within the Banzèbi country Collomb 1979 p. 89 describes from Koulamoutou and Pana to Mbigou and Lébamba; no instrument site named.","jade_complex_role":"","blurb":"Spun round on its cord, a wooden blade the length of a hand gives a drone meant to frighten. Among the Banzèbi, as among their Mahongwé, Bekwil and Pové neighbours, it sounded at bongoja, a secret dance held to get at the truth; while it lasted, anyone with no part in the matter stayed indoors. The Banzèbi live in the steep forest of the southern Chaillu massif, under peaks above a thousand metres, from Koulamoutou down to Mbigou and across the border into Congo. Their account of how the world began is the story of the seven sons of Nzèbi.","pull_quote":"","pull_quote_translation":"","pull_quote_cite":"","term_gloss":"joamiala: the inventory's heading name for the Gabonese rhombe; the Banzèbi word is not recorded. bongoja: the secret truth-finding dance at which the instrument sounds.","cls":"restricted","class_label":"Restricted","color":"#A43C2F","is_candidate":false,"flags":[],"f_jade_complex":false,"f_women_taboo":false,"f_women_special":false,"f_snake":false,"sources":[{"citation":"Brice Emery Mbendje, 'Joamiala (Le Rhombe): instrument de musique traditionnelle', Bantoozone (2016), after the LABAN inventory, Université Omar Bongo","url":"https://bantoozone.org/culture-art-gabon-afrique/joamiala-le-rhombe-musique-du-gabon/"},{"citation":"Gérard Collomb, 'Les sept fils de Nzèbi. Un mythe cosmogonique des Banzèbi du Gabon', Journal des Africanistes 49(2) (1979), pp. 89–134","url":"https://www.persee.fr/doc/jafr_0399-0346_1979_num_49_2_1985"}],"source_citations":"Brice Emery Mbendje, 'Joamiala (Le Rhombe): instrument de musique traditionnelle', Bantoozone (2016), after the LABAN inventory, Université Omar Bongo; Gérard Collomb, 'Les sept fils de Nzèbi. Un mythe cosmogonique des Banzèbi du Gabon', Journal des Africanistes 49(2) (1979), pp. 89–134","source_display":"Brice Emery Mbendje, 'Joamiala (Le Rhombe): instrument de musique traditionnelle', Bantoozone (2016), after the LABAN inventory, Université Omar Bongo; Gérard Collomb, 'Les sept fils de Nzèbi. Un mythe cosmogonique des Banzèbi du Gabon', Journal des Africanistes 49(2) (1979), pp. 89–134","date_citation_display":"","object_display":"A wooden blade about 15 cm long on a cord, whirled to give a drone.","function_display":"Shared with the Mahongwé, Bekwil and Pové: frightens by its noise and is sounded at the secret bongoja dance, held to get at the truth, while anyone not concerned stays at home.","confidence_display":"medium","attestation_label":"secondary catalog","etymology_hedge":"","people_key":"banz nzebi","display_name":"Banzèbi roarer of the Chaillu hills","image":{"full":"assets/objects/hunt_2026_10_03/MUS2026-176_mqb_71-1938-46-677.jpg","thumb":"assets/objects/hunt_2026_10_03/thumbs/MUS2026-176_mqb_71-1938-46-677_thumb.jpg","credit":"© Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, 71.1938.46.677","license":"© Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac","source_page":"https://collections.quaibranly.fr/?action=search&field=/Record/ObjectNumber&value=71.1938.46.677","rehosted":true,"representative":true,"caption":"Pointed iron Tadogbel blade with a small lug at its broad end","pool_id":"auto-hunt_2026_10_03--MUS2026-176_mqb_71-1938-46-677","auto_assigned":true,"last_modified":"2026-10-19"},"slug":"mbendje2016-001-banzebi-nzebi-bandzabi"}