Pronounced free-chee-wah, and best known in Ghana and other parts of West Africa, this is a two-piece single-handed pod bell percussion instrument, with a round hollow iron shell worn on the index finger struck by the ring on the thumb. It is used in wide range of recreational drum and vocal ensembles in both urban and rural locales throughout the Akan cultural region, and is particularly popular with women players to create intricate, clicking rhythms. Varying in size, tone and pitch, they can be played on each hand for an evocative sound.
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