Slit drum

Bamileke drummers in Cameroon's West Province.

A slit drum is a hollow percussion instrument, usually a log drum of bamboo or wood, that is made with one or more slits in it. Most slit drums have three slits, cut into the shape of an "H". If, as is usual, the resultant tongues are different lengths or thicknesses, the drum will produce two different pitches. It is used throughout Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. In Africa such drums, strategically situated for optimal acoustic transmission (e.g., along a river or valley), have been used for long-distance communication.

Types

The ends of a slit drum are closed so that the shell becomes the resonating chamber for the sound vibrations created when the tongues are struck, usually with a mallet. The resonating chamber increases the volume of the sound produced by the tongue and presents the sound through an open port. If the resonating chamber is the correct size for the pitch being produced by the tongue, which means it has the correct volume of airspace to complete one full sound wave for that particular pitch, the instrument will be more efficient and louder.

The people of Vanuatu cut a large log with 'totem' type carvings on the outer surface and hollow out the center leaving only a slit down the front. This hollowed out log gives the deep resonance of drums when hit on the outside with sticks.

List of slit drums

• Agung a Tamlang (Philippine) - Maguindanaon
• Alimba - Zairean
• Ekwe - Igbo
• Huiringua - Mexico
• Kagul (Philippine) - Maguindanaon
• Krin or Kolokolos - Guinea
• Lokole - Congo Basin
• Mondo - West Africa
• Mukoku - Yaka people (Congo)
• Pate - Samoa, Cook Islands, and other parts of Polynesia
• Tagutok (Philippine) - Maranao
• Teponaztli - Mesoamerican
• Tongue drum
• Vanuatuan slit drum - Vanuatu

Gallery

Slit drums from different cultures

Two Aztec slit drums, called teponaztli. The characteristic "H" slits can be seen on the top of the drum in the foreground.   An example of a slit drum from the Philippines known as a kagul by the Maguindanaon people   Wooden slit drums from Vanuatu, Bernice P. Bishop Museum   Ekwe drum of the Igbo people.

See also

• Drum (communication)
• Log drum
• Wood block
• Tank drum

Further reading

• Hart, Mickey Planet Drum, A Celebration of Percussion and Rhythm New York: HarperCollins (1991).

External links

• Collins Rhythmcraft page on slit drums
• Drum Museum Siebenborn, Infos about antique slit drums and hand drums from Africa and New Guinea
• Beauty of Life Blog - A few examples of wooden slit gongs from Asia, including elephant bells.