One other significant work also deals with the origins of the marimba: Vida
Chenoweth’s The Marimbas of Guatemala, published in 1964. In chapter five of this
book, “The History and Development of the Marimba,” the author discusses the
different possibilities for the origin of the Guatemalan marimba, finally resting with
most confidence on tile African origin as the best and most reasonable conclusion.’
My own research in Mexico, Central America, and Africa supports and perhaps
further substantiates Chenoweth’s arguments on the Guatemalan marimba.
My own research is far from complete, and there always exists the possibility that
in some as yet undocumented regions of Mexico or Central America additional
evidence may still be uncovered. I am, nevertheless, firmly convinced, on the basis of
existing evidence, of the African origin of the Mexican/Central American xylophone
known as marimba and, further, that these various types of xylophone are of a single
generic origin.