UO Museum Instruments: Africa

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

L35-26

At March 7, 2009 8:38 AM , Gavin said...: This looks like an Atumpan drum, from Akan but played by other groups in Ghana (Ga, Ewe...). Lots of references to this drum and the music associated with it by many scholars, like Nketia, for example. Played as a pair of drums (male and female). Adowa or Fontomfrom are perhaps the two pieces most associated with its use...Gavin
At March 9, 2009 10:32 AM , Sheila Feay-Shaw said...: These look to be the atumpan. They are used in the Akan traditions primarily for the Ashante. The two drums are placed into a wooden frame that has two half-cirlces cut out at the top so that they can be tipped slightly away from the player. They are played with a curved stick and used to play proverbs and poems. Twi is the Ashante language which is tonal. The two drums are pitched high and low (Male and Female) to create the matching tonality of the speech.