As the Christmas holiday season approaches, there is a timeless charm in gifting music to a local church in your area, back home if you are living in the diaspora, or as a mission group. Whereas the market is flooded with numerous gift options, a gift of music in the form of a traditional musical instrument is an ideal Christmas gift in 2023.
By gifting a musical instrument, you’re not just giving a physical object; you’re giving the gift of music to a church, which has the power to enrich lives in countless ways during the praise and worship sessions. So, this holiday season, consider the magic of traditional musical instruments as the perfect Christmas gift that will resonate with your community church for years to come.
In this article, let’s explore the several musical instruments you can gift a church. You can gift these instruments as single instruments or as a set depending on the need you have identified in a church
Djembe drums
Djembe drum is a rope-tuned skin-covered globlet drum played with bare hands. Musicians use the djembe as the instrument of dance at marriages, baptisms, funerals, circumcisions and excisions. They also play songs during the ploughing, sowing and harvest, during courtship rituals and even to settle disputes among the men of the village.
The Engalabi, a Ugandan percussion instrument, is a membranophone with different names based on its size and shape. It traditionally comprises a reptile skinhead on a sizable wooden body. Integral in traditional ceremonies and theatre, particularly “Okwabya Olumbe,” the Engalabi demands musicians to play with bare hands, excluding beaters or sticks.
The drum has bridged the Black African with their spiritual beliefs (ancestor cult), forever entwined with African societies due to its artistic, spiritual, and everyday significance. Many assert that a set of drums, known as eng’oma ez’ensonga, can voice emotions for specific occasions. The Ganda saying reflects this belief: “Ndi ng’oma, njogera matume” – meaning “I am a drum and I talk as instructed,” and “ndi ng’oma, nseka matume” – signifying “I am a drum, I laugh as ordered.” The Baganda, part of the Bantu people and Uganda’s kingdom-holding tribe, view playing eng’oma ez’ensonga as vital for societal communication, embodying unparalleled power and serving as the heart of political, social, and spiritual life.
The adungu, a traditional Ugandan harp, features a hollowed-out wooden body covered with cow leather as a soundboard. Nylon strings pass through the soundboard to pegs housed in a curved branch. Adungus come in various sizes and are typically diatonically tuned. The Adungu are traditionally played by tribes in the northwest of Uganda in a district called Arua.
Ensaasi, a subset of Ugandan percussion instruments, are alternately referred to as Enseege shakers. Crafted from gourds or shells, these shakers embellish traditional Ugandan musical ensembles. By incorporating beads or small objects like pebbles, the distinctive sound arises when these elements interact within Ensaasi’s rounded shells. During dances or performances, shaking the Ensaasi produces this captivating auditory effect.
The term “flute” originally encompassed pipe instruments held both horizontally and vertically. A flute player can go by different names, such as flutist, flutist, fluter, or flutenist.
Among the instruments with the highest pitch is the flute, leading to compositions written in treble clef.
Throughout history, flutes have been crafted from diverse materials, including wood, bone, ivory, glass, silver, gold, and platinum.
Unlike many electric musical instruments that require electricity and skilled personnel to play and yet become obsolete within a few years, traditional musical instruments age gracefully. In fact, many vintage instruments become even more valuable and cherished as time goes by. By giving an instrument, you’re presenting a gift that can last for generations, becoming a family heirloom with sentimental value.
You can purchase these musical instruments from our shop and we shall ensure we deliver it to your doorstep or to the recipient. Purchase your instruments here
