Shilla-shilla, end-blown flute.
This shilla-shilla was collected by the writer Mercedes Mackay on the western shores of Lake Chad in Nigeria no later than 1950. She was apparently unable to find out any detailed information about the instrument or its use, apart from that it was associated with the Bagirmi culture. However, Olive MacLeod, an earlier visitor to the region saw a shilla-shilla in use. In her book 'Chiefs and Cities of Central Africa' (1912, p.171), she describes the instrument accompanying a dance in the square in the Bagirmi capital Tchekna. This was part of the morning festivities on the first day of the week-long 'feast of Déé' in 1910 with the Bagirmi sultan Gauaronga (b.1863) in attendance. More recently, Claude Arditi has described their use in a healing ritual in N'Djamena, where three shilla-shillas were played with various types of drums ('La Mise sur la natte. Rites du possession et condition feminine en milieu dislamisé à N'Djamena. Objects et Mondes 20/2, Summer, 1980, p. 53)
