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A close-up on some of South Africa’s indigenous instruments

23 September 2022 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo iFlair Photography

According to Dr Absolum Nkosi, Senior Lecturer in the Odeion School of Music at the University of the Free State (UFS), “ancient traditional instruments form part of the African heritage”. As such, with Heritage Day upon us, it is imperative to highlight these South African indigenous musical instruments.

Some of the most prominent South African musical instruments currently in the possession of the UFS, include uhadi and umakhoyane, also referred to as ugubhu. At first glance, one would think that these instruments are the same. This would not be an incorrect assumption. In fact, these instruments share similarities in terms of purpose and how they have been used throughout their existence.

Similarities and differences between the instruments

For instance, both uhadi and umakhoyane (ugubhu) are instruments traditionally played by women. Dr Nkosi maintains that songs accompanied by any of these instruments are usually personal, as they cover topics such as love, family, and relationships. Furthermore, the songs that were sung with the assistance of these instruments, were also about a reflection of the individual’s mental state. As such, the fact that both instruments have a very soft sound aided in that reflective process.

However, there are key variations between these instruments. Uhadi is a single-string acoustic bow affiliated with the Xhosa tribe, whereas umakhoyane is a single-string acoustic bow affiliated with the Zulu tribe. In addition, umakhoyane possesses a bridge in the middle that uhadi does not. Furthermore, there is also a difference in the sound produced by the two instruments. “Uhadi produces one sound when it is played with the string openly without touching it; you can then get the second sound by pinching and releasing the string using the index finger and a thumb. However, umakhoyane produces two notes when playing the string on the upper and the lower level. The bridge in the middle of the string divides it into an upper part (low tone) and a lower part (high tone),” Dr Nkosi indicated.

It is imperative to note that these instruments have adapted over time. In fact, they have been used in genres such as Jazz and contemporary Afro music. Therefore, Dr Nkosi believes that the preservation of these indigenous instruments is essential, as it keeps the African musical identity alive.

Uhadi: Indigenous South African instrument affiliated with the Xhosa tribe

Umakhoyane: Indigenous South African instrument affiliated with the Zulu tribe

News Archive

Plant scientist, Prof Zakkie Pretorius, contributes to food security with his research

2014-08-26

Many plant pathologists spend entire careers trying to outwit microbes, in particular those that cause diseases of economically important plants. In some cases control measures are simple and successful. In others, disease management remains an ongoing battle.

Prof Zakkie Pretorius, Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, works on a group of wheat diseases known as rusts. The name is derived from the powdery and brown appearance of these fungi.

Over the course of history wheat rusts have undergone what are notoriously known as boom and bust cycles. During boom periods the disease is controlled by means of heritable resistance in a variety, resulting in good yields. This resistance, though, is more often than not busted by the appearance of new rust strains with novel parasitic abilities. For resistance to remain durable, complex combinations of effective genes and chromosome regions have to be added in a single wheat variety.

In recent years, Prof Pretorius has focused on identifying and characterising resistance sources that have the potential to endure the onslaught of new rust races. His group has made great progress in the control of stripe rust – where several chromosome regions conditioning effective resistance have been identified.

Dr Renée Prins of CenGen and an affiliated UFS staff member, developed molecular markers for these resistance sources. These are now routinely applied in wheat breeding programmes in South Africa. In addition, Prof Pretorius collaborates with several countries to transfer newly discovered stem rust resistance genes to wheat, and in characterising effective sources of resistance in existing wheat collections.

His work is closely supported by research conducted by UFS colleagues, students and other partners on the genetics of the various wheat rust pathogens. These studies aim to answer questions about:
• the origin and relatedness of rust races,
• their highly successful parasitic ability, and
• their adaptation in different environments.

The UFS wheat rust programme adds significantly to the development of resistant varieties and thus more sustainable production of this important crop.

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