Total height cm. 42,5
Maximum width cm. 78
Weight kg. 1,4
Material wood and hide
Nr. of strings 8
Longest string cm. 70
Tuning presumably whole tone


The form of this harp is characteristic of the production of the Kele, inhabiting the region of the river OgoouÈ (northern Gabon). The soundbox is hollowed out from a single block of wood, onto which the string arm is then attached, at about three quarters of its length; the harp has eight strings, presumably tuned to a whole tone scale. It is interesting to remember that this type of harp was known in the west from the end of the 17th c.; a quite faithful depiction of a Kele harp can be found in the second volume of Michael Praetorius’ treatise Syntagma Musicum (Wolfenb¸ttel, 1619), table XXXI.