| Component | Material | Symbolic Meaning | |-----------|----------|------------------| | Shell | Trunk of muḓada tree ( Pterocarpus angolensis ) | Strength, continuity of ancestors | | Drumhead | Hide of a black ox (never a wild animal) | Sacrifice, purity, and submission to the spirit realm | | Pegs | Muringa wood ( Vitex payos ) | Tuning, binding community to the divine | | Decoration | White clay ( luvhundu ) and red ochre ( tshithu ) | Ancestral presence and life force |
