algaita
The algaita (also spelled alghaita, algayta or algheita) is a double reed wind instrument from the Sahelian region of West-Central Africa that is used by the Bamum, Hausa and Kanuri peoples in Cameroon and Nigeria. Its construction is similar to the oboe-like rhaita and the zurna. The algaita is distinguished from these other instruments by its larger, trumpet-like bell.
algaita
Wouter van Beek · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Algaita
- Field
- musical instrument
- Region
- Niger
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
The algaita (also spelled alghaita, algayta or algheita) is a double reed wind instrument from the Sahelian region of West-Central Africa that is used by the Bamum, Hausa and Kanuri peoples in Cameroon and Nigeria. Its construction is similar to the oboe-like rhaita and the zurna. The algaita is distinguished from these other instruments by its larger, trumpet-like bell.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q2646434 · wikipedia · Algaita
In this article
Overview
Overview
Instead of keys, it has open holes for fingering, similar to the zurna. • Illustration — Algaita player, Kapsiki, Cameroon
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Algaita • Classification — Double reed • Related — *Sorna • Rhaita • Suona • Sopila • Shawm • Zurna
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Niger
Country
algaita is associated with Niger.
Country
Traditional recordings
Traditional recordings
• Music from the Villages of Northeastern Nigeria (Folkways, 1971) • "Music of the Cameroon - The Fulani of the North" (Lyrichord 7334)
Use in jazz recordings
Use in jazz recordings
• Yusef Lateef, In Nigeria, (YAL Records, 1983) • Yusef Lateef, The African-American Epic Suite (1994)
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2646434: algaita
Unverified · Wikidata
reference work
- “Algaita”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Roger Blench, S. 178
- 2.Alfons Michael Dauer: Tradition afrikanischer Blasorchester und Entstehung des Jazz. (Beiträge zur Jazzforschung Bd. 7) Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1985, S. 76
- 3.Griots Hausa. Nigeria. CD produziert von Charles Duvelle. Prophet 24, 2001, Titel 2 (und Titelfoto Booklet)
- 4.Gerhard Kubik: Africa and the Blues. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson 1999, S. 88
- 5.Makada Robo (algaita) und Boussa Baléri (Gesang und gangan) in: Niger. Haoussa – Songhay – Zarma. Prophet 04, CD produziert 1999. Aufnahme von Charles Duvelle 1961, 16.43 min
- 6.Abakar Moustapha (algaita) und Ensemble: Aba Guirmi. In: Tchad. Arabe Dékakiré – Arabe Salamat – Barma – Kanembou. Prophet 19, CD produziert 2000, Aufnahme von Charles Duvelle 1966
- 7.Beverly B. Mack: Muslim Women Sing: Hausa Popular Song. Indiana University Press, Bloomington 2004, S. 51
References
Citations
References
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authority record
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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