Margot Dias

Mozambican Mbira (Lamellophones)
(published on Facebook by Museu da Música)
no copyright infringement intended

The Mozambican name of this instrument is Mbira. The sound of this instrument is produced by vibrations of one or two rows of metal blades, linked on a support of bamboo or palm rachis. The blades are plucked with the thumbs, while the whole instrument stays inside a gourde.

(Museu da Música)

This image was chosen to celebrate the work of ethnomusicologist Margot Dias (1908-2001). Born in Nuremberg, she was trained as a pianist at the Munich Academy for Music and Theatre. She moved to Portugal in 1948 and started to work in the fields of ethnology and ethnomusicology. .Margot Dias made numerous filed research trips in Mozambique, to study ion depth the musical instruments there. She is worldwide recognized for her in-depth knowledge of Makonde culture.

(http://www.macua.org/instrumentos.html)

Mbira players in Tafara, near Harare, Zimbabwe
(video by Hirage)

(Musica Nova)