mbila

[ uhm-bee-luh ]

noun

1. a xylophone of southern African origin having graduated wooden keys, traditionally attached to hollow gourd resonators, and played with rubber-headed mallets, often in a group.
2. mbira ( def 1 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of mbila¹

First recorded in 1925–30; from Venda (Bantu language of the Transvaal and Zimbabwe); mbira ( def )