The Ba-Benzélé Pygmies - Hindewhu (Whistle Solo)

Hindewhu is a style of singing/whistle-playing of the Ba-Benzélé pygmies of Central Africa. The word is an onomatopoeia of the sound of a performer alternately singing pitched syllables and blowing into a single-pitch whistle made from the twig of a papaya tree. Hindewhu announces the return from a hunt and is performed solo, duo or in groups.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_music#Hindewhu

From the ethnomusicology LP The Music of the Ba-Benzélé Pygmies, recorded by Simha Arom and Geneviève Taurelle in 1965 and released by Bärenreiter-Musicaphon in 1966. Part of the series An Anthology of African Music, in the UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music of the World.

http://www.discogs.com/Ba-Benzélé-Pygmies-The-Music-Of-The-Ba-Benzélé-Pygmies/release/3531126

Photo by Simha Arom, taken from the album’s liner notes.

Adapted by percussionist Bill Summers (by blowing into a beer bottle) in Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man, https://youtu.be/4bjPlBC4h_8, and Michael Harriton in Congo Melody, https://youtu.be/LFMEpOJ7JFQ, from the soundtrack to the turn-based strategy video game Civilization: Call to Power (Activision, 1999).

Видео The Ba-Benzélé Pygmies - Hindewhu (Whistle Solo) канала Michael Clayton