From my father's collection, 7 & 8

[See Jan.11 for explanation]

On the left an African musical instrument called mbira , also karimba, sansa  etc, and now referred to in Anglophone countries as a thumb piano or finger harp. It consists of a set of metal tines fastened across the top in such a way that  each produces a resonant note when plucked or twanged with a thumb or finger. A sounding box such as a hollow gourd can be used to maximise the effect. The  metal beads,  called machacharra , at the bottom provide a rattling accompaniment.

These instruments have been used in Africa, in particular in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa, for probably thousands of years, at religious ceremonies and social gatherings. Missionaries and colonial administrators tried to suppress indigenous culture and banned their use.  In the 1950s an ethnomusicologist called Hugh Tracey singlehandedly brought the mbira to the attention of the rest of the world and started producing modern versions for wider use. Since then they have been adopted by contemporary African musicians,  and others, and have found their way to every corner of the globe in all sorts of versions.

There's an excellent essay on the history and significance of the mbira here but if you'd rather not read all that do at least scroll down to where  Mbuya Beulah Dyoko, the first Zimbabwean woman to play the mbira, demonstrates her talent and talks about her life. (Or go straight to it here) There are more links further down the page , including instructions on making your own mbira.

On the right in my blip is a wooden comb such as used by the Swahili people of East Africa - Zanzibar and parts of Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. I could find only one image of such a comb being used at the period this one dates from and,  typically, the caption is about the (male) photographers not the women who appear in the picture.

The African comb became an icon of Black resistance during the second half of the 20th century, and the design was patented in the USA in 1969. Some were produced with Black Power fists at the top. There's an interesting discussion about the symbolism of the Afro comb  here.

Both these items are about 8ins/21cm long and both are made out of very hard wood with incised decorations.