Mvet

Fang epic-poetry tradition. A bard-singer accompanies himself on a stick-zither also called *mvet*.

The mvet is both the lute-zither (a curved stick over a calabash resonator) and the entire epic-poetry tradition built around it. The mbomo-mvet (master singer) recites the great cycle of Engong, the mythic city of the immortals, across hours of performance — accompanied by the mvet, hand-claps, and the ndingo (small percussion bow).

Objects in the archive: occasional carved mvet zithers; far more common are the figures and headrests associated with the bard-traveller circuit across Fang country.

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