VII 



DRUMS 



drum used by the Niam-Niam. It is roughly shaped 

 like an ox, with head and horns attached by a narrow 

 neck to a thick body two feet in diameter, furnished 

 with a tail and supported on four short, thick legs. The 

 whole is cut out of one log. The part representing the 

 body of the ox is as big as an ox and narrow towards 

 the spine. The whole is hollowed out like a trough, 

 with a narrow, slit-like mouth replacing the backbone. 

 The sides of this drum are of unequal thickness and 

 enable the drummer to produce two distinct sounds 

 according to the side struck. The wood is extremely 

 hard and resonant. Schweinfurth states that three 

 important signals are rendered on these drums one 

 for war ; another for hunting, and the third a 

 summons to a festival. The war signal sounded on 

 the drum of a chief and repeated by other drums 

 brings together thousands of armed men when 

 necessary. 



War drum of the Niam-Niam. Captured 1905. (Gordon College, Khartoum.) 



