Kisanji: Congo Democratic Republic musical instrument

The kisanji is the name given to the lamellaphone of the Ngala in the Congo democratic Republic. The instrument is known as sanza and it is performed by holding the musical instrument in both hands and plucking the keys of the instrument with the thumbs of the hand. The pitch of each metal key is dogged by the width of the instrument’s key. 

source: mundopercussivo.com

Usually, the placement of the keys is symmetrical, with the lowest keys in the middle and the higher keys of the instrument being on each end of the musical instrument. The general tuning is the pentatonic scale without semitones for example; do re mi sol la that differs by region. The music performed on the musical instrument is polyrhythmic with overlapping rhythms. The sanza is usually used as an accompaniment instrument to the voice, to great effect. The keys of the instrument are fixed to a sounding board by metal strips or by wires and positioned over the gourd or clay resonator of differing sizes. The number of keys differs by region also. Within each region, the musical instrument can take different shapes. The kisanji in the accompanying photo has a resonator produced from the shell of a tortoise that has been attached to the sounding board with the natural fibers.