Between May 1956 and December 1958, John Blacking lived amongst the Venda of the Sibasa district of the Northern Transvaal. During this period he documented the three phases of initiation for Venda girls: vhusha, tshikanda and domba. His work provides detailed ethnographic descriptions of these institutions and of the expressive repertoire used in them. Few ethnomusicologists have left such a wealth of accessible material at the disposal of subsequent generations.