86 EASTERN ETHIOPIA vn 



In Kampala, I was much impressed by the way sound 

 travels from one hill-top to another. A native on the 

 summit of one hill can converse without much difficulty 

 with a native on a neighbouring hill, and in the calm 

 of the evening the sound of the drum travels long 

 distances. This makes it easy to believe that drums 

 are used in these countries not only for issuing signals, 

 but for conveying messages in code. 



In Uganda the drum is an appanage of royalty, alive 

 or dead. Women drummers live in the tombs of the 

 kings. The tomb of Suna, the father of Mutesa, 

 contains some of his memorials, and the old women 

 (his widows) live in the tomb and believe that so long 

 as a certain part of him (umbilical cord) exists, the old 

 lord and master is with them in spirit. When this 

 relic is brought out all the old drummers and singers 

 beat their drums and sing old chants, just as they used 

 to do to welcome the approach of their master during 

 his reign. (C. W. Hattersley.) 



Simple forms of drums are made by hollowing out 

 a piece of the stem of a tree, a yard long and eight or 

 nine inches in diameter : over the ends of these long 

 cylinders a piece of skin from a large lizard is stretched : 

 sometimes a piece of goat or antelope skin is used, but 

 whatever the material, it is fastened over the end of 

 the drum arid fixed to the wooden cylinder with pegs, 

 or in some of the more elaborate drums, the skin is kept 

 stretched by means of strips of leather. 



Long narrow drums of this kind are carried by means 

 of a leather strap passing over one shoulder of the 

 drummer. The drums are beaten by means of wooden 

 sticks, or the end of the drum-stick is enveloped with 

 bast or rags. 



The most complicated drum I have seen was shown 

 me by Mr. Hobley, who obtained it from the Wa-Kamba. 

 The drum-cylinder was from the stem of a large 

 bamboo ; it measured two yards in length and six 

 inches in diameter. At one end of the cylinder a piece 



