Simbing
The simbing is a Malian harp-lute, used by the Mandinka people of Mali, and the Mandinka and Jola peoples of Senegal and Gambia. The instrument consists of a calabash resonator, a (usually curved) stick for a neck, a metal jingle attached to the neck, and a bridge that holds the string over the skin soundboard in a vertical line. For comparison, lutes (such as the guitar) usually have the strings held in a horizontal line above the soundboard.
Simbing
Lars Curfs (Grashoofd) · Lars Curfs · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Simbing
- Field
- string instrument
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Documentary summary
The simbing is a Malian harp-lute, used by the Mandinka people of Mali, and the Mandinka and Jola peoples of Senegal and Gambia. The instrument consists of a calabash resonator, a (usually curved) stick for a neck, a metal jingle attached to the neck, and a bridge that holds the string over the skin soundboard in a vertical line. For comparison, lutes (such as the guitar) usually have the strings held in a horizontal line above the soundboard.
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wikidata · Q2099563 · wikipedia · Simbing
In this article
Overview
Overview
The instrument has five to nine strings. A simbing from the 1790s was reported as having seven strings by Mungo Park. The instrument was played in the Mandinka and Jola cultures in the context of hunting. In addition to the instrument's strings being plucked, its calabash gourd could also be tapped with sticks by the singer, to produce a percussive effect.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Simbing • Background — string • Names — *Furakaf (Jola) • Simbi • Simbingo • Simbing • donsonkoni (hunter's ngombi) • Classification — harp-lutes • Hornbostel Sachs — 323-5 • Hornbostel Sachs Desc — Acoustic instruments which have a resonator as an integral part of the instrument, in which the plane of the strings lies at right angles to the sound-table; a line joining the lower ends of the strings would be perpendicular to the neck. These have notched bridges. Sounded by the bare fingers
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2099563: Simbing
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Simbing”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Institutional database
- arXiv, Cornell University, preprints naming “Simbing”
Scholarly · arXiv (Cornell University)
Citations
References
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Institutional database
arXiv, Cornell University, preprints naming “Simbing”arXiv (Cornell University)
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Secondary witness
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 16 August 2026.
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