This post features a set of Central African Republic Instrument stamps from 1970. Such sets, featuring common instruments from a country have been popular since the 1950s. As such, you can read articles about instrument many sets of stamps elsewhere on this blog including from Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, and the Philippines, among others.
There are many reasons that instrument sets are so popular. First, they evoke a shared musical culture and are popular with a local population. Secondly, they can help to build pride of this culture and of the country in general. Thirdly, aesthetically, instruments work well together to create a unity to a stamp set.
Central African Republic 1970 Stamps
The Central African Republic is a landlocked country in the center of the continent. Although the country was long a colony of France, it became independent in 1960. The design of the stamp set was by the French artist André Peyrie. They feature realistic depictions of instruments, surprisingly on modern bold backgrounds with strong colors and fantastic shapes. As a result, the stamps feel very much of their time.
Garayah
The lowest denomination stamp in the set features the garayah (or garaya), a two-string plucked lute. The instrument has a gourd resonator with a skin table and is about fifty centimeters in length. The stamp has a denomination of ten Central African francs and Louis-Norbert Hanniquet was the engraver.
Ngombi (harp)
The next stamp in the set is the 15 franc example. Unsurprisingly, as for so many Central African stamps, the engraving for this stamp is by a French artist, Roger Fenneteaux. Indeed, this design features the ngombi, an arched harp. The harp has two elements, a soundbox and a curved neck. Gut strings from plant fiver rise diagonally from a skin soundtable. Below is an example of a similar harp, from Gabon, from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Xylophone
The third stamp in the series features a xylophone. The stamp is my favorite of the set, because the background features two designs. The first features thing lines in pink and deep red around the instrument, and then to the right thicker lines in deep red. The engraver of this stamp was Cécile Guillame.
Specifically, the xylophone on the stamp featureskeys of wood slabs with gourd resonators. A wooden rail helps the player to balance the instrument on the ground, or to wear it around their waist.
Of course, make sure to check out my page of xylophone stamps.
Ndala
The next stamp in the set is the fifty franc stamp, by the engraver Braquemond. It is another harp, this one by the name Ndala. Specifically, this instrument has five strings, far fewer than the above ngombi. Ndala is the word for harp in the Nzakara language, which is spoken in the eastern part of the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where this instrument is used.
Drums
Finally, the last stamp in the set is the denomination of 130 francs and the engraver wasEugène Lacaque. It features two drums, with the name gatta et babyon, with skin heads held in place by wooden pegs. The drums are free standing with a substantial base. Such drums in the Central African Republic are hand drums, where players play them with their hands instead of sticks. While much less ornate, you can see similar types of standing drums from the Central African Republic in the video below:
