Title: Unknown
Item Type: Bamboo flutes or tubes
Key Words: Flute, musical instrument, bamboo, Sierra Leone, Bubu
Dimensions: 44cm x 4cm
Materials: Bamboo
Production methods and techniques: Unknown
Condition: Good.
Description
A set of two cylindrical, hollow bamboo tubes, closed at one end and open at the other. There are small circular holes at the top of both tubes. The tubes are decorated with detailed carvings of lines, triangles and squares.
Function:
More research is needed on this object, but it is possible that these cylindrical tubes are musical instruments. There is a potential link to Sierra Leone, and specifically, the village of Mange Bureh, where bamboo cane trumpets are used. These ancient bamboo pipes are played by farmers in the Sierra Leone hinterlands, in the musical style of Bubu.
Provenance
Name of creator: Unknown
Where the item was created/made:
Unknown, but potentially West Africa/Sierra Leone.
Date Made: Unknown
Acquisition:
Unknown, but it was likely obtained by a PhD student of a member of staff at the University of Edinburgh during fieldwork and was then donated to the University of Edinburgh’s Social Anthropology Teaching Collection, where the Social Anthropology Department now has ownership.
Acquisition date: Unknown, but likely pre-1980s.
General Notes
Name of Cataloguer: Yasmin Heyworth
Date: 05/03/2025
Accession Number: SA 033.1 – 33.2