Resonance: Musical Heritage of La Francophonie Previous   Next


PERFORMANCE

Music and Power




Kougue
Niger
Ethnic group: Hausa
Canadian Museum of Civilization

  Kougue - CMC no. 2000.135.4a-b / Photo: Harry Foster


     

Made of two hollow metal tubes of different sizes, the kougue is a double bell that is struck with an antelope horn. In the past, it was a symbol of power, and was used by chiefs to call their wives or their subjects. Up to ten kougue may be played together. Some of them are very large. The Bamoun people of Cameroon, for example, have kougue that are 60 centimetres high.

Top