| 释义 |
‖ mbira, n.
(mˈbira, anglicized əmˈbɪərə)
Also ambira, mambira.
[Shona (and other Sintu languages of southeastern Africa), f. -imba to sing, prob. by metathesis of rimba (limba) a note.
Often confused with the Venda mbila.]
1. = *mbila n. rare.
1876Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms 455/1 Zanze... Known also by the names of mambira, ambira, marimba, ibeka, vissandschi, in different parts of Africa. 1901G. M. Theal tr. J. dos Santos's Ethiopia Oriental in Rec. S.-E. Afr. VII. 202 The best and most musical of their instruments is called the ambira... It is composed of long gourds..held close together and arranged in order. 1948Newslet. Afr. Mus. Soc. 20 We met a group of musicians, six mbira players... Mr. Tracey got three of the mbiras to be played without their gourd resonators and the other three to be played with resonators.
2. Any of several small hand-held musical instruments of southern Africa, consisting of a series of wooden or metal keys attached to a resonator, with one end of each key free to be plucked with the thumb and forefingers. Cf. sansa n.
1951H. Tracey in Afr. Drum Apr. 18 The Mbira is the only instrument of quality which is unique and peculiar to Africa alone. It is of small size, being held comfortably between the palms of the hands. 1961Afr. Mus. II. iv. 20 All the instruments of this family of plucked idiophones share the same generic name of Mbira within the South Eastern territories of Africa. 1966New Yorker 4 June 27/3 He was making music with a mbira, a kind of African hand-piano. His brother..was accompanying him on a kalimba..which is a modern version of the mbira. 1975M. Hartmann Game for Vultures iii. 35 From the kraal there came the blurred, repetitive rhythm of an mbira. A penny whistle joined in. 1992Option July–Aug. 111/3 Maraire's voice and mbira, and an African-American gospel choir combine magnificently. |