Atranatrana (xylophone ou bakilo, katiboke, kilangay, valihambalo) (The sticks are called FAMANGO) Asia Around 1970 Rot-proof hardwood like false camphor 50 cm, 49 cm, 48,2 cm, 42,5 cm, 34,5 cm (length) Museum of Art and Archeology of the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar

I was able to hear and see the atranatrana played at a party. I chose it because I was very surprised by its extremely simple construction and I wanted to share my discovery with you.

It is made from slats of hardwood (especially false camphor), roughly hewn in unequal lengths. The number of sticks of wood varies from four to eight, attached on both sides with a string. The slats can be interchanged depending on the rhythm.

The atranatrana is placed flat on a woman's lap and struck with two sticks made of the same material as the strips of wood. It produces a very unique sound. The atranatrana is one of 23 idiophones that can be found in Madagascar today.

The atranatrana or kilangay or valihambalo comes from Southeast Asia and was introduced to Madagascar between the beginning of the Christian era and the 5th century. Its name comes from the fact that the woman who plays it has to sit bolt upright, stretching out both legs that are naked and spread slightly apart to serve as a resonator and support for the wood slats. This seated position is referred to by the verb miatranatrana which means "to be seated with pride". This was the origin of the name of the instrument, atranatrana.

The atranatrana is found in only a few places in Madagascar in the southern and eastern coastal regions. The atranatrana may be played for pleasure as well as for religious purposes. In the Bara region, it was once played during the bilo ceremony but this has gradually been abandoned.

Its primitive construction classes it as a folk instrument but modernization has replaced the human resonator with a wooden soundbox. These days, the atranatrana is classified as a modern instrument and it can be played along with metallophones, even though its sound is weaker, less high-pitched and less resonant. In contrast to the antsiva, an instrument of the idiophone family played only by a man, the atranatrana is played solely by the woman that serves as its support.

Other women may accompany her. The atranatrana can be accompanied by other instruments, especially the valiha, or by other atranatrana of different sizes. The sound varies depending on the size of each instrument. The smaller it is, the higher pitched its sound. The atranatrana is used most often to play traditional popular music.

Each wooden slat has a name that corresponds to the diatonic scale: tsibilo, sindry, sindry homana, valideniny or varinara. Unfortunately, the meaning and origin of these names is still unknown.