Valiha

Structure and craftsmanship

Crafting a valiha begins with selecting a sturdy section of local bamboo. Builders choose stalks between five and ten centimetres wide, cut to lengths between thirty-five and one hundred and eighty centimetres. The instrument usually carries twenty-one to twenty-four strings arranged around the tube. In earlier times, artisans carved strips directly from the bamboo skin, lifting them with tiny calabash or wooden bridges that also served as movable tuning pegs. Today, makers often fashion strings from unbraided bicycle brake cables attached to nails, while advanced performers use steel piano or guitar wire. A related box-shaped instrument called the marovany uses wood or metal sheets.

Sacred and royal roots

Music from the valiha has long held an elevated place in Malagasy society. During the period of Merina royal dominance, nobles grew long fingernails specifically suited for plucking the strings, making the style of play a clear marker of social rank over working labourers. Beyond social status, the instrument serves an important religious role in rituals meant to invite and communicate with spirits. Popular belief on the island even connects the zither to biblical history, tracing its lineage back to King David as part of an overarching story regarding Jewish roots among the Malagasy people.

Modern music and masters

While deeply rooted in custom, the valiha adapted naturally to twentieth-century broadcasting and modern ensembles. Outstanding masters helped bring its sound to wider audiences. The musician Rakotozafy, born in 1938, gained acclaim through live studio sessions broadcast over national Malagasy radio. Another prominent artist, Sylvestre Randafison, became recognized as an enduring cultural icon through his mastery of the instrument. Today, the tube zither is heard in folk bands and church gatherings across Madagascar, maintaining its role as the signature voice of the island.

How Valiha is kept

Musicians hold the cylindrical bamboo tube vertically or diagonally, plucking the strings with both hands using their fingernails or fingertips. Performers play the zither during private leisure, public folk concerts, and sacred ceremonies designed to summon spirits. Tuning bridges beneath each wire allow the player to adjust the pitch before and during play. Today, musicians perform solo or accompany vocalists, church choirs, and traditional bands, keeping both old acoustic techniques and newer steel-string styles alive.

When and where

The valiha is played across the island nation of Madagascar, where it is honoured as the national instrument. It has deep historic associations with the Merina region of the central highlands and remains widely played in towns, villages, radio studios, and churches throughout the country.

What Valiha means

To the people of Madagascar, the valiha represents national identity and spiritual connection. In royal Merina history, long playing nails showed aristocratic freedom from manual labour. In spiritual practice, its tones are believed to bridge the human world and the realm of spirits. Local origin stories also associate the instrument with King David, reflecting a shared narrative of ancestral heritage.

Questions people ask about Valiha

See also

DhrupadThe foundational vocal and instrumental classical music tradition of northern IndiaHiragasyA day-long Malagasy highland tradition of song, dance, and poetic speech competitionsSegaA music and dance tradition from Mauritius and Réunion with Afro-Malagasy roots.Rosh HashanahThe Jewish New Year marked by shofar horn blasts, prayer and sweet foods

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

• Valiha on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.