Obokano

The obokano (also spelled obukano) is a large bass bowl lyre from Kenya. It is used by the Gusii ethnic group. The Gusii region is inhabited by Kisii People. Currently it is referred to as Kisii County.

The instrument is made from a skin of a cow or goat and a bowl like structure curved out of a wood stump. It consists of eight strings whose tensions on the crossbar can be adjusted to produce different tones. It has been described as "the double-bass of East Africa."[1]


Musicians who play the Obokano are; Ontiri Bikundo, Dismus Nyang'au, Onyoni Sakawa , Grandmaster Masese and Ratai Arati amongst others.

Notes
  1. Remnant, Mary; Group, Diagram (1978). "World Instruments". The Musical Times. 119 (1626): 680. doi:10.2307/959148. ISSN 0027-4666. JSTOR 959148.
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References
  • Hyslop, Graham. "Some Musical Instruments of Kenya." African Arts, vol. 5, no. 4 (Summer 1972), pp. 48-55.
  • Varnum, John P. "The Obokano of the Gusii: A Bowl Lyre of East Africa." Ethnomusicology, vol. 15, no. 2. (May 1971), pp. 242-248.

Www.grandmasterobokano.blogspot.com

Listening

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