Jean-Paul Mboumba building a Ngombi harp

The RIETMA team followed Jean-Paul Mboumba for three full days, in the suburbs of Libreville (Gabon), during the making of a Ngombi harp, from tree trunk to tuning.
Here is a contemplative video of this ancestral work.

00:00:39 - Day 1
00:18:55 - Day 2
00:30:37 - Day 3

With Jean-Paul Mboumba & his family members (Jules, Gabi, Farnel...).
All songs are from Jean-Paul Mboumba.

Director: Matthieu Thonon
Images: Matthieu Thonon (shoulder camera) & Rémy Jadinon (fixed camera)
Sound: Jeffrey Mbina Kassa, Gauthier Menvie, Rémy Jadinon
Photographs: Simon Egan
Editing: Matthieu Thonon
Subtitling: Charlotte Despa, Matthieu Thonon, Simon Egan
Production: BELSPO (Belgian Science Policy) & MIM

This video was shot in the Nzeng Ayong district of Libreville (Republic of Gabon)
between November 21st - 23rd 2019 for the RIETMA project.

RIETMA team:
Africa Museum (Tervuren, Belgium): Rémy Jadinon
Nyege Nyege (Kampala, Uganda): Derek Debru
Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (Paris, France): Sylvie Le Bomin, Susanne Fürniss
Musée de la musique (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso): Evelyne Koho Kabou
Musée des arts, rites et traditions (Libreville, Gabon): Larissa Zang Metogo
Musical Instruments Museum (Brussels, Belgium): Simon Egan, Matthieu Thonon, Saskia Willaert

© MIM 2022