DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49270#0162
Nungu
89
Next comes the cylindrical double-ended drum, somewhat smaller in size, which is carried
by a sling over the shoulders. Yet smaller than these are the kettle drums, which range
from those measuring about fifteen inches high and nine inches in diameter to the large
ones about three feet high and eighteen inches in diameter. The wooden part of these
kettle drums is carved out of one piece and comprises three massive feet as well as the
body of the drum. The skins of the large single-ended drums and of the kettle drums are
stretched and adjusted by a rope passing round the drum, and made fast to a series of pegs
set in the side of the drum a little below its mouth. The adjusting cord which is fastened
to the pegs, in the case of the double-ended drums, is passed alternately through the edge
of each skin.
The single-ended drums are laid on their sides when in use, the adjusting pegs serving
to raise the end to be beaten. The operator on the big drum sits astride of it just behind
the pegs and plays with the flat of his hands, while the performer on the kettle drum
stands astride of it and uses two covered sticks with flattened heads. The big drum is
used to give the main beat of the rhythm in the dances, while the kettle drums put in
the more rapid and complicated embellishments. The big drum is also used for signaling,
but no elaborate system of signals is in vogue. The chief and most frequently used signal
is a call to the surrounding people to assemble to drink beer. The use of the double-
ended drums seems almost restricted to solo performances by disconsolate husbands whose
wives have deserted them (a frequent occurrence). It often happens that at least two men
lay claim to a woman, so that whichever she may choose to live with, there is at least one
left to drum for her. The custom of singing to the accompaniment of the drum is also
common in courting unmarried girls, or in seducing married women. The suit of a drum
performer is usually carried to the woman by a third person. If the woman consents she
bestows some trinket on the intermediary to give to the man, and arrangements are then
made for her to come to him.
Horns of the various kinds of antelopes and of the buffalo are used on some occasions,
and a certain amount of musical effect is achieved by using a number emitting different
notes — on the principle of the European “hand bell ringers”. The buffalo horn is not
blown, but sung into. A small hole is made near the end and then covered with a mem-
brane. The membrane vibrates to the singing and the horn itself acts as a resonator.
Hollow reeds are used in the dances. The noise is produced by blowing across the
mouth of the reed and is little more than a discordant squeak. There is also the wooden
pipe with stops, usually known as an end-flute.
Rattles are made of the bottle-shaped calabash. The calabash is enclosed in a loose
string net, with small pieces of bone or hard wood strung between the meshes. These
rattles are used only in the Juju dances, which the women must not see. Rattles of iron
89
Next comes the cylindrical double-ended drum, somewhat smaller in size, which is carried
by a sling over the shoulders. Yet smaller than these are the kettle drums, which range
from those measuring about fifteen inches high and nine inches in diameter to the large
ones about three feet high and eighteen inches in diameter. The wooden part of these
kettle drums is carved out of one piece and comprises three massive feet as well as the
body of the drum. The skins of the large single-ended drums and of the kettle drums are
stretched and adjusted by a rope passing round the drum, and made fast to a series of pegs
set in the side of the drum a little below its mouth. The adjusting cord which is fastened
to the pegs, in the case of the double-ended drums, is passed alternately through the edge
of each skin.
The single-ended drums are laid on their sides when in use, the adjusting pegs serving
to raise the end to be beaten. The operator on the big drum sits astride of it just behind
the pegs and plays with the flat of his hands, while the performer on the kettle drum
stands astride of it and uses two covered sticks with flattened heads. The big drum is
used to give the main beat of the rhythm in the dances, while the kettle drums put in
the more rapid and complicated embellishments. The big drum is also used for signaling,
but no elaborate system of signals is in vogue. The chief and most frequently used signal
is a call to the surrounding people to assemble to drink beer. The use of the double-
ended drums seems almost restricted to solo performances by disconsolate husbands whose
wives have deserted them (a frequent occurrence). It often happens that at least two men
lay claim to a woman, so that whichever she may choose to live with, there is at least one
left to drum for her. The custom of singing to the accompaniment of the drum is also
common in courting unmarried girls, or in seducing married women. The suit of a drum
performer is usually carried to the woman by a third person. If the woman consents she
bestows some trinket on the intermediary to give to the man, and arrangements are then
made for her to come to him.
Horns of the various kinds of antelopes and of the buffalo are used on some occasions,
and a certain amount of musical effect is achieved by using a number emitting different
notes — on the principle of the European “hand bell ringers”. The buffalo horn is not
blown, but sung into. A small hole is made near the end and then covered with a mem-
brane. The membrane vibrates to the singing and the horn itself acts as a resonator.
Hollow reeds are used in the dances. The noise is produced by blowing across the
mouth of the reed and is little more than a discordant squeak. There is also the wooden
pipe with stops, usually known as an end-flute.
Rattles are made of the bottle-shaped calabash. The calabash is enclosed in a loose
string net, with small pieces of bone or hard wood strung between the meshes. These
rattles are used only in the Juju dances, which the women must not see. Rattles of iron