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The chipendani is a single string mouth bow from South Africa. There are a large numbe of mouth bows in Africa, but the chipendani is unique in that it has a small thread a third the distance along the string that surrounds both the string and bow, dividing the string into two pitches tuned a fifth, fourth or octave apart. The chipendani has an extremely quiet sound, and is commonly used for personal entertainment. Often players will sing and play the chipendani at the same time.

Country: South Africa
Region: Africa
Type: musical bow

chipendani mouth bow
©  R. Raine-Reusch, May 2002