The Slit Drum In Various Cultures
Drums are often considered to be the most ancient musical instruments. The slit drum was used for communication between distant tribes in Asia, Africa, South and North America. This type of drums has numerous names in different cultures. It is sometimes called the log drum, the wood block and many other names. But all of them refer to the same musical instrument.
The slit drum is a percussion instrument made of wood or bamboo depending on geographic area. In most cases there is at least one slit to create resonance. In the majority of cases there are three slits forming an ‘h’ shape. All the slits are usually of different lengths and thicknesses. This allows producing different sounds when hitting different slits. The ends of the slits are closed to create a resonance and to increase the volume of the drum. Slit drums are usually stroke with mallets.
Ancient Aztec tribes had a slit drum which was called a teponaztli. To make this drum they used hard types of wood or fire-harden the logs. Their drums also had three slits creating an h shape. These drums played an essential role in Aztec culture. They were used for communication, religion, social events and even for war. There is some evidence that these drums were used in human sacrificial rites. Some scientists think that the blood of the victims was even poured into the instruments.
Asian slit drums are mostly made of bamboo as this is a common plant in that part of the world. The tribes of Philippines use a bamboo drum called a kagul. This percussion instrument is used to scare away the birds from crops and to accompany social gatherings and entertaining.
In many cultures of Africa, Australia and some parts of Asia the slit drum is called the slit gong. At the same time the instruments itself is exactly the same as in other cultures. Narrow slits are made in the log to hollow it out. The slits are made of different lengths to create different sounds and pitches. These drums are played with special padded sticks and are able to produce a lot of various notes. In some African cultures these drums are used along with talking drums. The last ones provide wide possibilities for communication.
North America also used to have slit drums that were called the log drums. In most cases they were made of maple or cherry wood. Most slit drums were able to produce various sounds due to slits of different length and thickness. These instruments were used by Native Americans for distant communication before the Europeans have come. Later on European soldiers began to use this instrument for communication between the camps.
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