Tom (Ethiopian instrument)

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The tom is a plucked lamellophone thumb piano used in the traditional music of the Nuer [1] and Anuak ethnic groups of western Ethiopia. The instruments is also called thoom Otieno and may also be spelled toom and thom. [2]

Thoom is a Anywaa word. [2] Besides being a word for a thumb piano, the word is used generally by parts of the country’s population to mean “musical instrument.” [1] It is also the name of an Ethiopian lyre. [2]

The state-run Ras Theatre brought music from different parts of Ethiopia to its stage, including the ‘’tom’’, played by the “Nilo-Saharan peoples from the Gambela Region.“ [1] The instrument was also used in some pieces performed by Orchestra Ethiopia in the 1960s.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Bishop, Sarah (2016). For the Motherland (#### ###): Traditional Music Performance and Nationalism in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Thesis). Florida State University College of Music. p. 20. Abstract with full title ‘For the Motherland (ለእናት ሀገር): Traditional Music Performance and Nationalism in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’
  2. 1 2 3 "Songs from Ethiopia and South Sudan". sbmusicology.com.