Deze

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In Zimbabwean Shona music, a deze is a halved Calabash gourd in which an Mbira is placed in order to amplify its sound. It is typically round in shape and has bottle caps, shells or other objects strung around its perimeter which vibrate with the Mbira, causing a buzzing sound. Cracked deze frequently are repaired by stitching. Modern deze may also be constructed of fiberglass, which is generally less prone to breaking.

[edit] Places to Obtain Deze

• Mbira.org Getting an mbira page at Erica Azim's site
• Zimfest Festival Marketplace
• Dandemutande Deze subcategory in resource guide. See also the vendor subcategory as well as the Dandemutande mailing list for the purchase of deze.
• MyLinda King's hosho & deze page

[edit] See also

• Hosho
• Mbira
• Shona music
• Music of Africa
• Music of Zimbabwe
• Zimbabwe

[edit] Further reading

• Berliner, Paul. (1978). The Soul of Mbira: music and traditions of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. Berkeley : University of California Press.
• Tracey, Andrew. (1970). How to play the mbira (dza vadzimu). Roodepoort, Transvaal, South Africa: International Library of African Music.
• Tracey, Hugh. (1969). The Mbira class of African Instruments in Rhodesia (1932). African Music Society Journal, 4:3, 78-95.