The ngombi project proposes to study the evolutionary processes of the musical instruments of oral populations based on an interdisciplinary approach combining methods from the humanities, engineering and life sciences humanities, engineering sciences and life sciences. The aim is to understand the specific mechanisms of instrument evolution, but also the impact of socio-cultural contexts on theseon these mechanisms.

This study, which is intended to be exploratory, concerns more particularly the harps of Central Africa. The choice of the instrument and the perspective of the study are due to the geo-cultural anchoring of the of the project team (Central African Republic, Cameroon, Congo, Uganda, Gabon) and the research orientations developed there, namely the global understanding of the processes of processes of creation, transformation and dissemination of elements of musical heritage.