PanAfricanArts

Hand-Crafted Musical Instruments by PanAfricanArts

| 1,089 Sales |

Smooth shipping

Has a history of shipping on time with tracking.

Rave reviews

Average review rating is 4.8 or higher

Eddie Osborne

Contact

Following shop Follow shop

Announcement To our valued longtime and recent customers: After a 12-year run, Pan-African Arts finally will terminate its relationship with Etsy effective May 20, 2024. For the locations of our new sales outlets, drop an email (osboed@gmail.com) and we'll provide the links. Meanwhile, all sales and discounts expire on May 11, so place your orders soon to allow time to ship before the May 20 shop closure date.

Announcement

Last updated on Apr 25, 2024

To our valued longtime and recent customers: After a 12-year run, Pan-African Arts finally will terminate its relationship with Etsy effective May 20, 2024. For the locations of our new sales outlets, drop an email (osboed@gmail.com) and we'll provide the links. Meanwhile, all sales and discounts expire on May 11, so place your orders soon to allow time to ship before the May 20 shop closure date.

Report this shop to Etsy

You reported this shop

Etsy automatically translates most text on the site to your preferred language.

See in original language

Reviews

Average item review

(282)

See reviews that mention:

Rachael Bet Wenban on Apr 20, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you for the instrument

West African metal bell/gong (gankogui): medium

West African metal bell/gong (gankogui): medium
Shauna on Apr 13, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful instrument made with quality materials!

East African reed rattle (kayamba): small

East African reed rattle (kayamba): small
Shauna on Apr 13, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

My African instrument was well-crafted and carefully packed!

Gourd kazoo

Gourd kazoo
L on Feb 19, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

thank you for the care in packaging for shipping.

Congo/Angola-style "thumb piano" (isanji)

Congo/Angola-style "thumb piano" (isanji)
Herman Boyd on Feb 16, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

As described. Excellent condition. Fast delivery.

Mini African-style compound musical bow (pluriarc)

Mini African-style compound musical bow (pluriarc)
Froki on Feb 14, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

Sounds lovely! Feels lovely! Lighter than I thought it would be! It is very beautiful to behold and a great honor to be able to have one for my workings. Thank you very much!

West African Metal Pod Bell (frikiywa)

West African Metal Pod Bell (frikiywa)
dravex6493 on Feb 10, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

Arrived in perfect condition. Packaging was nice and safe. Best wishes!

West African netted gourd rattle (Ewe axatse): small

West African netted gourd rattle (Ewe axatse): small
Ellyse on Jan 31, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful product! Kind seller 😊

West African netted gourd rattle (Ewe axatse): small

West African netted gourd rattle (Ewe axatse): small
Christopher on Jan 22, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful traditional pre-British colonial style thumb piano with bamboo tines versus metal tines. What a wonderful example of the evolution of the M'bira and thumb piano!

West/Central African-style "thumb piano" with bamboo tines

West/Central African-style "thumb piano" with bamboo tines
Ben on Jan 14, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

My aknonting is expertly made and sounds great. A lot of care to detail was put into making the instrument. The seller added a free, fun "berimbau" just for the heck of it. An extra string was also enclosed. Everything was top notch.

A banjo ancestor: Ekonting (West African-style gourd-bodied lute - (medium)

A banjo ancestor: Ekonting (West African-style gourd-bodied lute - (medium)

About PanAfricanArts

Sales 1,089

On Etsy since 2012

Work-In-Peigresa: Ekonting, a likely progenitor of the banjo, being readied for the Black Banjo Reclamation Project.
Work-in-progress: Agbe (jumbo Yoruba-style netted gourd rattle) being strung with the traditional cowrie shell strikers
Work-in-progress: Yoruba-style netted gourd rattle (şèkèrè). Pending additional bead strikers.
Work-in-progress: şèkèrè (Yoruba-style netted gourd rattle)
Work-in-progress: frame for bala (Mande-style gourd-resonated xylophone). Pending attachment of wooden keys and gourds.

Pan-African Arts: Crafters of African and African-derived "musical happy machines"

ARTISTIC BACKGROUND AND TRAINING
My first exposure to folk musical instruments was during my childhood in Georgia, when I would watch my father and friends making and playing nail-keg drums, kazoos, and such (instruments which I later learned had African antecedents) at weekend gatherings.

Although I soon began making instruments myself, it wasn't until early adulthood that I began actively to craft traditional African instruments, the techniques having been learned through observation and informal study with crafters in the U.S. and abroad.

My handiwork is similar to that of other crafters in the U.S. in that they share the same broad outlines. Mine differs from that of most, however, in that I make every attempt to adhere to traditional dictates and avoid incorporating such modern innovations as to render the end product unrecognizable as a traditional instrument.

Shop members: Lobognon Ahipeaud, a native of the West African nation of Cote d'Ivoire; and Titos Sompa, a native of the Congo.

My handiwork has been featured in the following settings: (1) an exhibition in conjunction with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce symposium "Doing Business in Africa"; (2) "Florida Folklife: Traditional Arts in Contemporary Communities" (a five-city statewide exhibition curated by the Historical Museum of Southern Florida (Miami, FL); (3) an exhibit during a Kwanzaa celebration at the Broward County Main Library (Ft. Lauderdale, FL); (4) a three-month exhibition at Borders Books & Music (Ft. Lauderdale, FL); and (5) included in the permanent collection of the Geechee Kunda Living Museum & Cultural Center (Riceboro, GA). As well, my instruments have been used in live and recorded performances by a number of local and nationally known musicians. In 1997 I was one of six artists statewide selected to serve as "master artists" (mbira virtuoso Cleodis "Jomo" Faulks being my apprentice) in the Florida Department of State's Folklife/Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program. Additional honors include (1) a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Customs Service (Miami, FL, 1999); (2) a Blue Ribbon award from the Georgia Gourd Society Show (Perry GA, 2009); and (3) an Award of Merit from the Fiesta in the Park Art & Craft Show (Orlando, FL, 2010).

As an African/African-American cultural presenter, I offer, through my Project Reclamation platform, lectures (e.g., "African Linguistic Survivals in U.S. English," "African-Derived Names in the U.S."); lecture-demonstrations of African-and African-derived musical instruments; and conduct musical instrument-making workshops throughout the southeastern United States and beyond. For details on these offerings, visit http://www.ancestralmemory.com.

Facebook

Shop members

Eddie Osborne

Owner

Production partners

Liliane Nerette Louis

North Miami, FL

Author Liliane Nerette Louis is a Haitian culture bearer specializing in storytelling, cooking and traditional medicine
Linda Domoh Mwinsonge

Ghana

Crafts and sources some items

More production partners

Nsobill

Ghana

Crafts lutes, etc.

Shop policies

Last updated on Apr 4, 2020

Shipping

See item details for estimated arrival times.

Customs and import taxes

Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.

Payment options

Secure options

Accepts Etsy Gift Cards and Etsy Credits

Etsy keeps your payment information secure. Etsy shops never receive your credit card information.

Returns & exchanges

See item details for return and exchange eligibility.

Cancellations

Cancellations: not accepted

Please contact the seller if you have any problems with your order.

Seller details

View seller details

Captcha failed to load. Try using a different browser or disabling ad blockers.

PanAfricanArts

Hand-Crafted Musical Instruments by PanAfricanArts

Announcement

Featured items

Items

West African earthenware frame drum, medium (sakara)

West African-style harp (kamale ngoni) medium

East/Central African-style box-resonated xylophone (marimba)

Igbo-style gourd-resonated "thumb piano" (ubo-aka)

All Items

Sèkèrè (medium Yoruba-style netted gourd rattle)

Igbo-style gourd-resonated "thumb piano" (ubo-aka)

Igbo-style gourd-resonated "thumb piano" (ubo-aka)

West/Central African-style "thumb piano" with bamboo tines

West/Central African-style "thumb piano" with bamboo tines

Sekere (large Yoruba-style netted gourd rattle)

Sekere (large Yoruba-style netted gourd rattle)

West African-style netted gourd rattle (Ewe axatse): medium-small

Axatse (Ewe-style netted gourd rattle): medium

Axatse (Ewe-style netted gourd rattle): medium

Axatse (Ewe-style netted gourd rattle): medium

Discounted West African raft zither (Bwaba thianhou/tchahoun)

West African raft zither (Bwaba thianhou/tchahoun)

West African netted gourd rattle (Ewe axatse): small

West African netted gourd rattle (Ewe axatse): small

Sèkèrè (medium Yoruba-style netted gourd rattle)

Sierra Leone-style bamboo slit tube percussion (kele)

Sierra Leone-style bamboo slit tube percussion (kele)

West African netted gourd rattle (Ewe axatse): small

East/Central Africa-style bowl lyre (medium-small)

West African gourd disc rattle (wasamba): medium-large

West African "thumb piano" (guidiga)

West African-style gourd disc rattle (wasamba): large

West African-style gourd-resonated xylophone (gyil): large

Portable African earth bow/gutbucket/washtub bass

Portable African earth bow/gutbucket/washtub bass

African dancers'/musicians' adjustable waist rattle

seed pod rattle with wooden handle

Congo/Angola-style "Thumb Piano" (likembe)

Congo/Angola-style "Thumb Piano" (likembe)

West African-style harp (kamale ngoni) medium

West African-style gourd-resonated xylophone (bala/balan/balani)

Ghana/Togo-style netted gourd rattle (Ewe axatse)

West African-style netted gourd rattle (Ewe axatse)

Ghana-style netted gourd rattle (akasa): medium

Congo/Angola-style "Thumb Piano" (likembe)

Reviews

About PanAfricanArts

Shop members

Eddie Osborne

Production partners

Shop policies

Shipping

Customs and import taxes

Payment options

Returns & exchanges

Cancellations

Seller details