Luvale ndumbamwelela Mukanda bullroarer, Solochi Village

ndumbamwelela

Source term: bullroarer

ndumbamwelela: Luvale bullroarer name; plural vandumbamwelela. The translated notes gloss ndumba as “lion.”

At Solochi Village in August 1983, two ndumbamwelela broke into the women’s Mukanda dance with a growl said to imitate a lion. The dancers stopped, cheered, and answered with shrill cries: the sound announced that the boys’ initiation camp was about to begin. How the roar was made remained one of Mukanda’s carefully guarded secrets.

This is the sound of a 'bullroarer,' called ndumbamwelela. Ndumba means lion, and the instrument is said to imitate a lion's growl. It announces to the villagers that mukanda will soon begin.

Ken'ichi Tsukada, Zambia: The Songs of Mukanda, track 1 notes.

Particulars

Object

Bullroarer recorded sounding in a pair; construction not documented.

Function

Announces to villagers that Mukanda will soon begin; the notes compare its sound to a lion's growl.