Short answers, pulled from the story.
A xylophone is a percussion instrument made of wooden bars tuned to a musical scale and struck with mallets. The bars are typically made from rosewood, padauk, cocobolo, or synthetic materials such as fiberglass. Concert xylophones use tube resonators below the bars to enhance tone and sustain.
The origin of the xylophone is disputed. The earliest confirmed evidence of a true xylophone comes from the 9th century in southeast Asia. Ethnomusicologist Roger Blench argues for an independent origin in Africa, citing the greater variety of xylophone types found there. A separate source places a hanging wood instrument in what is now China as far back as 2000 BC.
The first use of a xylophone in a European orchestral score was in Camille Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre in 1874. The earliest written mention of the instrument in Europe appears in Arnolt Schlick's 1511 publication, where it is called hultze glechter, meaning wooden clatter.
The mbila is a xylophone associated with the Chopi people of Inhambane Province in southern Mozambique. It is played in large ensembles alongside bass instruments called gulu and tenor instruments called dibinda. Scholars describe its compositional method as the most sophisticated yet found among preliterate peoples.
The gyil is a pentatonic xylophone common to Gur-speaking populations across Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ivory Coast. It is the primary traditional instrument of the Dagara people of northern Ghana and Burkina Faso. Gyil duets are the traditional music of Dagara funerals.
Dumisani Maraire is credited as the key person who first brought Zimbabwean music to the West, arriving at the University of Washington in 1968. According to Andrew Tracey, marimbas were introduced to Zimbabwe in 1960. Maraire's influence helped establish a significant community of Zimbabwean marimba bands across the United States, with the annual ZimFest as their main gathering.