Ukhamba is the Nguni word for Calabash. You pronounce it OO-KHAM-BA. The Calabash is a gourd pumpkin that has been used by ancient people throughout Africa as a container in which to brew beer, store medicines, valuable herbs and water. But the concept of Ukhamba is more than this – it is a metaphor for knowledge sharing, teamwork, legacy, long term-thinking. Here are some key ideas from Ukhamba as provided by TDr Sibande – African storyteller from the Swazi tradition Mama Kena, a Sotho Traditional Healer and expert on culture and Nguni languages:
Meanings of Ukhamba – Unity, teamwork, replenishment, knowledge, wisdom, self-sacrifice, experience, storage, change, protection, value. No individual may drink alone.
When drinking African beer from the Ukhamba, it it placed in the centre of the room. When drinking your share, you do so in a kneeling position, never standing upright. You never drink and finish it off completely – that you leave to those who are older and wiser than you.
There are stories of the ukhamba stimulating storytelling – ‘when the ukhamba is in the middle of the room, people just start to talk’
Ukhamba has a similar meaning to the Greek ‘wassail’ – it stands for giving, receiving. An empty calabash is an insult.
The Calabash / Ukhamba is also a metaphor for transformation – the mature calabash is picked when green and then allowed to dry out in the sun. During this transformation process, it reduces in weight by up to 95% and becomes a hollow container for its seeds. You can hear the seeds rattling around in it when you shake it hard and has unique accoustic properties – the ukhamba can be used as rattles to make music and they even become 3 dimensional sounding boards for traditional musical instruments such as the Marimiba and Uhabi.
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One reply on “Ukhamba – the African Gourd Pumpkin”
Excellent, I like your post. It makes me understand a little more about Ukhamba instrument.