ngoma, noun2

Forms:
Also with initial capital.
Origin:
Venda.
A large, single-headed drum of the Venda people, used especially in certain religious ceremonies.
Note:
The same word is used for drums and dances in eastern Africa, derived from general Swahili.
1931 H.A. Stayt BaVenda 316The two types of drum..are usually played by women, although anybody is allowed to play them. The large drum, ngoma, is beaten with one stick, the tone being modified by pressure of the left elbow on the tympanum.
1934 P.R. Kirby Musical Instruments of Native Races (1965) 34A drum..found only among the Venda of the Northern Transvaal and their immediate neighbours..is the ngoma, a single-headed drum with a hemispherical resonator carved out of solid wood.
1951 T.V. Bulpin Lost Trails of Low Veld 20The baritone of the mirumba and the deep bass of the ngoma, thud out an intoxicating symphony in praise of sex and its mystic role in projecting the tribe on and on down through the centuries.
1975 S. Afr. Panorama Oct. 17The drum on the crest of the Venda is known as ‘Ngoma’ and is used by the chief to assemble his people when an important message has to be conveyed to them; it is thus the symbol of national unity.
1982 Pace Feb. 110In the distance I heard the drum. It was a deep belly-like sound one expects from the powerful Ngoma, the big one, one of the three holy drums of the Vhavenda.
A large, single-headed drum of the Venda people, used especially in certain religious ceremonies.
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19311982