Gourd Central African Gourd Craft Catalog

Gourd Central Catalog

Thumb pianos

The thumb piano is originally an African instrument, called a mbira, or kalimba; the steel keys are plucked with the thumbs. These thumb pianos are made for us in West Virginia. The keys are made from high quality spring steel and are shaped and ground to reduce wear and tear on your thumbs. They're tuned to the scale familiar to Western ears, but are tunable if you would prefer other tunings. The keys are mounted on a hardwood sounding board which is in turn mounted on a gourd. They sound great, are beautifully finished, and they're easy to play with the included instructions.

8 key small (4" to 6"); TP8S $38.00
8 key medium (6" to 7-1/2"); TP8M $42.00
8 key large (7-1/2" to 10"); TP8L $48.00
11 key small (4" to 6"); TP11S $44.00
11 key med (6" to 7-1/2"); TP11M $48.00
11 key large (7-1/2" to 10"); TP11L $56.00
Book, "How To Play the Thumb Piano"; BK-TP $5.00

Nigerian Pyroengraved Gourdcraft

We only have a few of these finely detailed gourd bowls. They´re top quality, thick gourds with meticulously pyroengraved animal designs inside and out.
Fine gourd bowls pyroengraved with traditional Hausa designs.
Nigerian gourd bowl

Premium bowl (16-20 inches); $89.95

Gourd bowls like these are still in common household use in rural North-Eastern Nigeria. These are pyro-engraved with typical Hausa designs.

Small (4 to 6 inches); $5.95

Medium (6 to 9 inches); $18.95

Large (9 to 12 inches); $39.95

X-large (12-16 inches); $49.95

Decorated dippers

Decorated dippers, 7 to 12 inches long, are used to handle all kinds of liquids. Each is decorated with pyroengraved geometric design.

Decorated dippers $6.00

Afro-American Arts of the Suriname Rain Forest

Afro-American Arts of the Suriname Rain Forest; by Sally Price (1980). Catalog of the UCLA Museum of Cultural HistoryÕs collection of Maroon (escaped slave) art from Suriname. Extensive coverage of calabash (tree gourd) artifacts and design in their cultural context, as well as textiles, woodcarving, etc. Profusely illustrated.

Afro-American Arts of the Suriname Rain Forest; $24.95

CDs

Gourds are natural resonators and are used in musical instruments of all sorts. Eventually we hope to carry cds representing gourd music from everywhere, but for now, weÕre featuring the kora, a 21-string harp-lute from West Africa. These two cds represent widely different styles by two kora masters.

Kaira

Solo instrumental CD recording by Malian Kora virtuoso Toumai Diabate.

CD-Kaira $12.95

Vieux Diop (Via Jo)

Traditional and modern arrangements of West African music featuring kora by Vieux Diop. CD.

Vieux Diop (Via Jo); CD-VieuxDiop $12.95

Dry gourds

We have many kinds of dry gourds, both hardshells and ornamentals. Your best bet right now is to let me know what you're looking for, and we'll take it from there. Prices range from 25 cents for ornamentals; hardshells from $1.50 to $15. We currently have some hard-to-find (in the USA) Nigerian gourds:

Ase; very small bottles, 2 to 3-1/2 inches high. A-ase; $3.00

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Fine print: all items are in limited quantities and subject to prior sale. If you aren't happy with your order (except cd's, videos and books), return it in new condition for a full refund. Due to today's fast-paced modern technology, we can't acccept returns on media. We're a home business, but we try to ship in-stock merchandise in 2 working days. We will contact you if your order is out of stock.