HOKEMA – Sansula Renaissance

The Sansula – a patented innovation of the firm Hokema – is an innovative development of the kalimba (also known as Sansa or Mbira) which has its origins in southern Africa. The Kalimba is a metal-tongued instrument, played by plucking the tines with the thumbs. It is found in Africa in uncountable shapes and variations. Whereby the vibrations of the tines are amplified in different ways e.g. over a resonator, a hollow vessel such as a calabash or simply a piece of solid wood. The vibration of the Sansula are first `stored` in a wooden block and from there transmitted to a resonating membrane. The sound produced is far more prolonged than with other means of amplification. Due to the tuning – the octaves are adjacent – a wonderful, soft sound full of overtones can be easily coaxed from the instrument.