instrument called the kaworoworo.
It is obvious to see that it is a piece of wood
which is bent and with a string. The bent wood
tightens up the string till it gives the desired sound.
On the side that you can't see, are small cuts
into the wood or notches. These are situated
at the bottom of the arc.
Above you can see Anton holding the kaworoworo
and at the same time he is moving a stick across
the notches, with the thumb of his other hand he is
moving the string in and out and also ... adjusting
the sound with his mouth, which acts something
like a speaker.
It has a twangy but earthy sound to it.
Interesting thing is that no one in the village I am in
knows how to play it. (Anton is not from our village).
From what I was told, it has only been a generation
or two since the kaworoworo was used almost nightly.
At night the men used to sit around the fire and play
the kaworoworo while telling stories and giving out
wisdom. Stories of how greed was the downfall of a
person, for example. These stories were told to teach
the younger ones the ways and wisdom of the elders.
The problems we have is that we need to go
several villages over to find some elders who still can
play these instruments. Then we need to find some of
the younger ones who want to learn.
Hopefully through our efforts we can save some of these
traditions within the village before it is too late.
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