The instrument has a wooden body with reeds made of raffia material. The six slats were arranged in a V-shape and therefore had their lowest tone in the centre. The lamellae were tuned using tuning wax, which was glued to the underside of the ends of the lamellae in lumps of different sizes in order to tune them precisely. Holes were drilled into the lower narrow side of the board, as this is where the rattle device, consisting of an iron clamp with metal rings threaded onto it, was once located. Gerhard Kubik: Kalimba, Nsansi, Mbira - Lamellophones in Africa: Veröffentlichungen des Museums für Völkerkunde Berlin (SMB), 1998 - Neue Folge 68 - Musikethnologie X, p. 172