Mbukushu Thumb Piano

Thumb pianos, a lamellophone instrument, are found throughout the Caprivi Strip, northern Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The two-tone blackening effect of the thumb piano, a typical feature of Southern-Central African artwork, is the result of the wood being deliberately burned with a metal tool in some areas and not others. The Mbukushu historically lived along the Okavango River in what is today Namibia, but large numbers of Mbukushu fled to Botswana during violent upheavals prior to Namibian independence.

5.5″

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