Kayamb, bob, roulèr : new acquisitions by the Museum

Three emblematic traditional instruments used in traditional Reunionese music, manufactured by three musicians, were added to the collections of the de Villèle Museum on 20th December 2018.

The Kayamb

Created by Firmin Viry, this consists of a sound box made of green aloe and the stems of flowering sugarcane, mounted using string and glue, then filled with wild saffron seeds.

The Roulèr or skin drum

Manufactured by Stéphane Grondin, this is an oak barrel with either end cut off and circled with metal, with an ox skin nailed onto one end.

The Bob or musical bow

Mounted by Johny Bily, this instrument consists of an amplifying box, made out of an emptied calabash, a rattle (kaskavel) out of plaited screw-pine filled with canna seeds, a bow of yellow wood (ochrosia) and green aloe fibre. It is played by striking it with a stick (tikouti) made of doratoxylon wood.