Music of Madagascar
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The highly diverse and distinctive music of Madagascar has been shaped by the musical traditions of Southeast Asia, Africa, Oceania, Arabia, Portugal, England, France and the United States over time a
Malagasy musicians playing valiha and acoustic guitar
Distribution of Malagasy musical forms
Madagascar: Early 20th century distribution of musical instruments with African, Indonesian or European origins
The lokanga played by a member of the group Vilon'androy
Valiha
Videos
The valiha is a tube zither from Madagascar made from a species of local bamboo; it is considered the "national instrument" of Madagascar. The term is also used to describe a number of related zithers
Music of Madagascar
…owe their existence to the introduction of the guitar by early Arab or European seafarers, the ubiquitous djembe originated in mainland Africa and the valiha—the bamboo tube zither considered the national instrument of Madagascar—directly evolved from an earlier form of zither carried with the first Austronesian…
A valiha player in Ambohimahasoa, central Madagascar
Valiha orchestra at the Paris World Exposition of 1931
Valiha with larger diameter bamboo tube