The term lesiba (Tswana for 'feather') refers to a class of "unbraced mouth-resonated bow[s]"[3] with a flattened quill attached to a long string, stretched over a hard stick, acting as the main source of vibration.

Holding both hands around the quill, positioned without touching just inside the lips, the player sharply inhales or exhales against it, creating vibration in the string.

[2] At the other end, in some areas, is a coconut shell resonator, with a tension noose wrapped around the string to adjust the pitch (Hornbostel-Sachs number: 311.121.222).

"[8] Barnard in 1910 noted the loudness of the instrument, while Alberti in 1810 compared the sounds to the "tones of the so-called Hunting-horn," presumably a reference to the shared use of the harmonic series.

[8] According to Kirby in 1934, "the tone is, when well produced, very pleasant, partaking of the qualities of both string and wind, reminding one of the Aeolian harp; and it can be varied in power from a faint whisper to a strong, vibrant sound, the air column of the mouth and throat acting as a resonator.