By Dr Michelina Andreucci

THE music of Zimbabwe is more diverse than meets the ear.
With the impetus nowadays to re-discover and redeem one’s distant past, it is fit that we include our indigenous musical instruments.
There are a variety of rich indigenous musical sounds apart from the mbira, ngoma (drum) and hosho (gourd seed rattles). The panpipes are among Zimbabwean musical instruments that are nearing extinction.
A study of traditional music of Zimbabwe reveals as much about the people, their spiritual and traditional beliefs, their modes of expression, patterns of communication and forms of entertainment, as any other aspect of the culture.
The functions of music were manyfold; music accompanied work, induced happiness – ‘pagungano’ (at a social gathering), accompanied communal tasks such as tilling, grain pounding and harvesting; lamentations, funeral processions, hunting and battle preparation, victory songs and celebration (kupembera).
Music communicated with the higher dimension of the ancestors as generational historical memory.
The energy and dynamism of traditional musical performances was originally directed towards the culmination of a ritual ceremony.
In Zimbabwe, the traditional reed pipes are a generational instrument of memory and sound.
Panpipes have various names, depending on their origins, region and clan who produce them.
For some it is known as the ‘pembe’, for others ‘muridzo-tsanga’ which translates to ‘reed whistle’.
Most Zimbabwean clan groups created their panpipes from an indigenous cane known as ‘musengere’ or ‘mushenjere’, which is a hollow bamboo reed found near water bodies or wetlands.
The figurated pastoral music created by the panpipes has a florid, naturalistic sound reminiscent of birdsong and water.
Indigenous Zimbabwean folk musicians have incorporated its rhythms and melodic characteristics into complex subtle and effective ideophonic musical forms.
Sadly, according to post-colonial heritage guru and musician, Dr Tony Monda: “Colonial environmental and historical impact upon this heritage has been such that the role of traditional music in the daily lives of the communities has been greatly reduced and relegated to private ceremonies or scholarly competitions and musical exhibitions.
Equally regrettable is that the cultural occasions at which traditional instruments were played are no longer a significant part of the lives of many urban Zimbabweans. Effectively, our music has been eroded from its positive communal role and space.”
Organic and ergonomic Zimbabwean musical instruments were made using natural materials such as wood, animal horns, animal hides and sinew, gourds, pods and seeds; all of which retained their acoustic qualities when seasoned and dried.
According to Dr Monda: “The natural sounds of the earth, wind and water, provided the source of inspiration for the music and many musicians incorporated the melodies of nature into their musical compositions.
“Music also played a powerful educational role for the young in our society and it was an indispensable part of children’s orature, games, song and dance.”
As I have alluded in The Patriot before: “Music is an integral part of our heritage.”
The many original sounds in our rich Zimbabwean music are at risk of fading away and need to be revived for posterity.
Having seen young men making their pan pipes from the reeds near Lake Kariba and other local water bodies as a young girl, I decided to re-visit and re-examine other hitherto forgotten sounds from the depths of our Zimbabwean indigenous musical memory.
Pandean reed pipes commonly referred to as panpipes are an ancient instrument made from a bundle of reeds, usually of seven graded lengths and fashioned into a string of harmonic reed pipes, producing a scale of different notes.
On the continent, it is found throughout the sub-Saharan regions from East Africa, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa, including Zimbabwe, where in Shona the panpipes are known as ‘ngororombe’.
These pipes emit a gentle organic, harmonious, whistling sound, evocative of nature; usually associated with people who lived in mountainous areas of Zimbabwe such as the Eastern Highlands of Nyanga, where flocks often went wondering and the panpipes were used to call the herd together as well as while up time for the herder or traveller.
Who is Pan?
According to legend and Greek mythology, Pan is the goat-footed Arcadian deity of nature.
He took seven pieces of reeds of unequal lengths and, tying them together horizontally, made a musical instrument known as pandean/panpipes.
A central figure in Greek mythology, he is the pastoral deity of fields, woods, shepherds and their flocks, woods and pastures; characterised as an eternal young man with goat’s legs, horns and ears, who plays the panpipes so his herds can follow him.
Half-goat and half-man, Pan is in fact, a hybrid being.
These pipes were originally named after the fair nymph Syrinx, an Arcadian nymph beloved of Pan.
The melody produced by the syrinx is associated with the sound of wind and water.
Panpipes produce organic natural sounds borrowed from nature.
In Zimbabwe, the panpipes are associated with nomadic indigenous peoples seeking rivers, streams and pastures in search of fresh fodder for the sustenance of their herds.
The music of the panpipes is as authentic and genuine as the vegetation that grows out of this native soil.
It is made of reeds found near water bodies, and in mountainous marshy areas,
Due to its size and portability, this wind instrument was favoured by herdsmen, hunters and travellers.
Along with the ‘chipendani’ – the mouth bow, the sound of panpipes music accompanied them along their travels and travails.
Panpipes players were encouraged to give form to the indigenous orature of the people.
In this way, an assortment of early melodies was taught, improvised and retained in one’s memory without the need for written musical notes.
As a result, the music produced was more spontaneous, lyrical and original and served as the main repertoire.
Its source was founded in African indigenous philosophy, particularly the philosophy of memory, sound, diction and onomatopoeia as a central binding force of people’s histories.
In August and September the winds that whistle through and among the water reeds and shallows of the Zambezi River are said to have given rise to the original sound and the making of the instrument.
The pastoral music of panpipes is an honest sound with texture, full of colour, lightness, richness and delight.
It is a music grown out of our indigenous natural environment; the soil, water, wind and the earth of Zimbabwe. For most African people, music communicates a language that surpasses words, lyrics or chants.
It was, and still is, a beautiful language whistled by pastoral herdboys today in which the traditions and orature of our people find a lasting repository.
Which is why the creation of music in Zimbabwe, in ancient times, was the domain of spiritual aristocracy.
Musicians were chosen according to their lineage, to become musicians and present their music at indigenous courts as performers; it was the highest accolade for the artistes.
Traditional Zimbabwean music was a divine and spiritual art form.
The persuasive, enchanting and soothing appeal of the indigenous panpipes can invigorate and bring a fresh revival to Zimbabwean folk music.
For as long as most historic texts are written by colonial scholars from a Euro-centric perspective, Zimbabwe stands to lose the rich vein of originality and ownership of our sounds, vision and memory.
We should never be at a loss for new indigenous melodies.
Dr Michelina Rudo Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher, industrial design consultant and specialist hospitality interior decorator. She is a published author in her field. For views and comments, email: linamanucci@gmail.com