!'guru

That's the name of the instrument seen in the picture. We had it made for the Young San Cultural Group as part of the project of outfitting it with traditional materials. The group's repretoire of dances tend to be in a more modern tone. With things like the !'guru it creates the need to search out the elders so as to have them teach the young the real old traditional songs. The goal is to have the group capable of performing nicely both old and new, which in essence is bridging the past to the present. The !'guru (!' is the way to write one of the four click sounds in the Khwedam language) is made of a special wood with the single string's material being that of the hide of a springbok. There is also a small calabash that serves as sort of a speaker. It has a small membrane covering a hole in it's side. It is a beautiful sounding instrument. Next instrument on the list is the kaworoworo. Haven't seen one yet but hopefully soon we can get one made. Then it is searching out the elders. For a guy from Massachusetts USA, this is some pretty cool stuff.