The wua is a notched flute with three finger-holes. It belongs to a flute family that traditionally is subdivided into flutes with a high, middle and low tone. Organologists class the wua flute as an 'air reed' instrument.
The wua is usually between 17 cm and 25 cm long with a diameter of 4 cm
and a conical bore. The length of every instrument differs depending on the
group to which it belongs.
There can be as many as seven different wua in one ensemble. The
different parts are divided among the musicians according to the timbre and
the register of the flute.
The wua accompanies dances such as the nagila and the jongo and women's songs. The wua is played in hoketus figures; one or two flutes alternating as one musician starts off and plays a number of notes, followed by the second. The wubala almost always starts and the wusanga and the wunia reply in pairs.
© RMCA/Dominik PHYFFEROEN