The acoustic instrument of Mozambican origin, the Timbila, will be the subject of a debate today at the Guimarães Rosa Institute in Maputo, as a candidate for oral and intangible heritage of humanity.

It is hoped that the debate, entitled "Timbila's Candidacy for Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity", will provide sufficient input for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to admit the instrument to the statute.

The meeting will provide an opportunity to better understand the challenges of conserving and promoting the Timbila. Since 2008, the Timbila has been a protected UNESCO heritage site.

Theimbila is a traditional Mozambican percussion instrument, multidimensional, made from appropriate and treated wood and wild fruit gourds such as massala. It originated with the cicope "chichope" people in the district of Zavala, Inhambane province. Timbilas can be used to form a musical orchestra. Timbilas are played with drumsticks whose tips are coated in rubber.