Xhosa Woman Playing the Uhadi

Transkei, Eastern Cape

Linocut on paper
Norman Kaplan, 2003

Traditionally dressed the woman is seated in a typical Eastern Cape landscape surrounded by cycads and spiky euphorbias, while playing an ancient African musical instrument called the Uhadi (harp in Xhosa). It is the precursor of all stringed instruments, consisting of a curved wooden branch with a single string attached to a calabash or gourd for resonance. The string is stroked or tapped with a stick bow and is usually accompanied by vocalisation.

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