We look at a musical instrument from southern Africa that might not look like instruments you’re familiar with. In this post, you will find the YouTube video exploring these artifacts, and a full video transcript (with relevant sources and links).

YouTube Video

YouTube Video Transcript

Here, you will find the complete transcript of the video in the previous section with hyperlinked references/citations.

Intro

What do you imagine musical instruments from the past looked like? And what materials do you think people used to make them?

Hi! I’m Dr. Smiti Nathan, and I’m an archaeologist. In this video, we’re going to look at a musical instrument from southern Africa that might not look like instruments you’re familiar with. It’s also archaeologically remarkable for a number of reasons.

Overview

This is the Sofala Trumpet. Like present-day trumpets we might see in an orchestra, it’s an aerophone, which means that the sound is produced by vibrating air from within the instrument.  This artifact is 48.3cm long and it was excavated at the Portuguese trading fort of Sofala on the coast of Mozambique. The exact date of the trumpet is unknown, but scholars think that it could date to after the annexation of Sofala by the Portuguese in 1505 CE. According to music archaeologist, Dr. Joshua Kumbani, trumpets are not common in the southern African archaeological record, so the Sofala trumpet’s existence is significant to begin with. But there are a few other reasons why this particular artifact is quite remarkable. 

Material

One reason has to do with what it’s made out of. Southern African “music-related or sound-producing artifacts” are generally made from materials including bone, metal, and clay. The Sofala Trumpet is made from ivory, which is an uncommon material for Southern African trumpets. 

So let’s take a closer look at how this instrument was constructed. The elephant tusk used to make the instrument was scraped and carved to form the trumpet’s narrow body. On one end of the trumpet we see a collar decorated with a carved figurine head. Next to it, there are four carved bands of ivory that bend to meet together and form a hollow. We then have a circular mouthpiece located on one side of the trumpet. There are also visible engraved circle-dots that appear to decorate part of the trumpet.

There are six rivet holes near the mouthpiece, as well as additional metal residues. These metallic remnants prompted scholars Fagan and Kirkman to suggest that the trumpet might have originally been sheathed with a metal case.

Preservation

Sound-producing artifacts made of organic materials, like ivory, often don’t preserve well in the southern African archaeological record, which is another reason why this artifact is remarkable. When it was first discovered, the Sofala Trumpet was in a very fragmentary condition and needed to be reassembled. After being donated to the University of Pretoria Museum in 2008, the trumpet was conserved in a complicated and time-consuming process. 

First, it was soaked in fresh water for several weeks in order to leach salt from it. Next, fungus was removed from the fragments by washing the pieces in diluted carbolic acid, and then fresh water to remove the acid. To remove the water from the object, it was treated in successive alcohol baths. These baths started with a low concentration and then progressed to a pure alcohol solution. Afterwards, it was subjected to four successive baths of “Glyptal cement mixed with Amyl Acetate in a vacuum chamber” until no bubbles could be seen coming from the ivory. Finally, the surface of the fragments was washed in amyl acetate, dried, and then reassembled.

African Context

The Sofala trumpet is one of the few archaeological examples we have of musical instruments, found in Southern Africa. As we mentioned before, when it comes to ivory trumpets, they’re not common in southern Africa. However, ivory trumpets are found in West Africa as well as on the East African coast. To the Asante of Ghana, trumpets had a spiritual significance. A Ntahera, is an ivory trumpet ensemble and is associated with the Ghanian royal court. Similar instruments are common in Central Africa, Congo-Kinshasa, and along the East African coast. For example, a mbiu, referring to a proclamation horn in this instance, was used by the Swahili to “announce the arrival of an important person.”

While we’re not sure of the exact use of the Sofala trumpet, music archaeologist Joshua Kumbani has some ideas. In southern Africa, horn trumpets seem to have been used for signalling. An example of this comes from  the Venda who used them to summon people to come to the chief’s place. Horn trumpets were also most likely used for musical purposes, such as accompanying dances or, more recently, in churches. Even though we’re not sure of its exact use, the Sofala trumper is an archaeologically remarkable find, given its rarity and the fact that researchers could ultimately preserve it.

Outro

This video is part of our Artifact of the Day series, where we take a quick look at one intriguing object from the past. If you’re interested in watching another artifact of the day video, check out the video here.

Credits

Brooke Norton: Series Lead, Co-Producer, Researcher, Scriptwriter

Noor Hanania: Lead Video Editor, Peer Reviewer, Logo Designer

Anya Gruber: Peer Reviewer

Sneh P. Patel: Peer Reviewer

Smiti Nathan: Director, Co-Producer, Support Video Editor, Researcher, Scriptwriter

Patreon Supporters

Thank you to our paid Patreon members for supporting the creation of this video:

Nancy Fulton, Giancarlo Annese, Thomas Martin, Stuart A. Griffin, Tagg, Ann Brookens, Diana Madden, Cole Guinn, Seemingly Unrelated Podcast, Chris, GeometryGirl, John McGrath, Carmen Guerrero

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