‖ sansa
(ˈsænsə)
Also sanse, zanza, zanze.
[Marungu (Bantu), ad. Arab. ṣanj, Pers. sinj cymbals.]
An African musical instrument consisting of a wooden box having at the top tongues of bamboo or iron which the performer vibrates with his thumb and forefingers. Cf. Kaffir piano, marimba.
| 1864 C. Engel Music Most Anc. Nations 14 Nos. 4, 5, and 6 show the notes of three zanzes. 1874 ― Descr. Catal. Musical Instruments S. Kensington Museum (ed. 2) 297 The zanze, or sansa, is to be found principally among the Negro tribes of upper and lower Guinea. 1876 Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms., Zanze... Known also by the names of mambira, ambira, marimba, ibeka, vissandschi, in different parts of Africa. 1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl., Sanse. 1929 N. & Q. Anthropol. (ed. 5) ii. 299 The ‘musical-box’ is an elaborated mechanical analogue of the sansa. 1970 Guardian 24 Apr. 9/1 They improvise together on the xylophone, sansas (thumb pianos), guitar, or piano. 1975 S. Marcuse Mus. Instruments (rev. ed.) 455/1 Sansa, linguaphone consisting of tuned metal or split-cane tongues fitted to a wooden board or resonator, so that one end of the lamellae can vibrate freely. Sansa is the name of the linguaphone among the Marungu people of the Congo; by extension it has come to be used in a generic sense for all similar instr[ument]s. |