The Valiha is a tubular cithara obtained from two large bamboo cylinders. In the oldest instruments the strings are made from the same bamboo filaments, raised and kept taut by a small cork bridge. The tuning of the strings depends on the position and thickness of the bridges. More recently a thin metal string has been introduced. This instrument, clearly of Asian origin, was probably imported to Madagascar across the ocean by Indian traders. The sound of the Valiha is metallic and with tonalities that are very similar to other cordophones from the Far East.
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