Talking drum While the tone and articulation of the
hourglass-shaped
talking drum can be finely controlled, it cannot be heard at distances beyond a gathering or market-place, and it is primarily used in ceremonial settings. Ceremonial functions could include dance, rituals, story-telling and communication of points of order. In Africa,
New Guinea and tropical areas of America, people have used drum telegraphy for centuries to communicate over long distances. When European expeditions came into the jungles to explore, they were surprised to find that people already knew they were coming and what their intentions were. By repeating a message in turn from one nearby location to another, African drummers can transmit that message a total distance of 100 miles in about an hour. Among the famous communication drums are the drums of
West Africa (see
talking drum). From regions known today as
Nigeria and
Ghana they spread across West Africa, and to the
America and the
Caribbean during the
slave trade. There they were banned because they were being used by the slaves to communicate over long distances in a code unknown to their enslavers. Talking drums were also used in East Africa and are described by Andreus Bauer in the 'Street of Caravans', about his time as a security guard in the Wissmann Truppe for the caravan of Charles Stokes. Some of the groups of variations of the talking drum among West African ethnic groups: •
Tama (
Wolof of
Senegal) •
Gan gan,
Dun Dun (
Yoruba of
Nigeria and eastern
Benin) •
Dondo (
Akan of central Ghana and
Côte d'Ivoire) •
Lunna (
Dagomba of northern
Ghana;
Mossi of
Burkina Faso) •
Kalangu (
Hausa of northern
Nigeria,
Niger, northern
Ghana,
Benin and
Cameroon) •
Doodo (
Songhai and
Zarma of
Mali,
Burkina Faso, and
Niger) In the 20th century the talking drums have become a part of popular music in West Africa, especially in the music genres of
Jùjú (Nigeria) and
Mbalax (Senegal).
Slit gongs Message drums, or more properly
slit gongs, with hollow chambers and long, narrow openings that resonate when struck, are larger all-wood instruments hollowed out from a single log. Slit-log drums are common in the drum communication systems of
Papua New Guinea, where they are known in
Tok Pisin as
garamut. Variations in the thickness of the walls give varying tones when struck by the heavy wooden
drum sticks. While some are simple and utilitarian, they can also be highly elaborate works of sculpture while still retaining their function. A long slit is cut in one side of a log, then it is hollowed out through the slit, leaving lips (wooden ledges) on each side of the opening. Using a larger log enables a louder sound that can be heard over longer distances. By hollowing more under one lip and less under the other, the drum can be
tuned to produce two different notes, a lower and a higher one. The drum's lips are hit with sticks, beating out rhythms of high and low notes. Small stands are often placed under each end of the drum to keep it off the ground and let it vibrate more freely. Under ideal conditions, the sound can be understood at , but interesting messages usually get relayed on by the next village. Drums used by the
Bulu people of Cameroon might be heard as far away as 10 to 15 miles at night, compared to three to four during daytime.
Cambarysu The
Catuquinaru tribe of Brazil reportedly used a drum called the
cambarysu to send vibrations through the ground to other cambarysus up to 1.5 km away. Some scholars expressed skepticism about the claim that it sent vibrations through the ground (rather than the air), and about the claim that it existed. ==What is transmitted==