Mbira toy made from recycled sardine cans.
Different groups of people have different names for the instrument e.g. likembe, mbira, zeze, ekende, sanza , kankobele and many more. The mbira consists of a series of metal or split cane strips (tongues) fitted to a piece of wood or a box. On some the pitch of the tongue is determined by its length, which can be altered by sliding the tongue under the lateral bar.
The number of tongues varies between 5 and 30. Mbiras with metal tongues often have pieces of wire around the tongues to produce a buzz. Nowadays beer bottle tops are used for vibration. The mbira is often placed over a small calabash or inside a large calabash: this increases the volume.
