of Edinburgh, Session 1884-85* 
263 
tion of drums in common, apart from those possessed by individuals. 
The drums, which are broader at one end than the other, are made 
of hard wood, hollowed out by knives. They are covered at the 
ends by parchment, and the two coverings are laced together by 
thongs, which can be tightened at will. They are played with 
sticks and fingers. 
There are two varieties of flutes, made from reeds or hard wood. 
One kind is blown from the side, and has six notes, producing low 
tones; it is about 18 to 20 inches long. The other flute is much 
larger ; a plug is placed at one end, leaving only a small aperture, 
through which the instrument is blown. The flutes are held as in 
Europe. 
Trumpets are made from the horns of bulls, sheep, goats, and 
antelopes, and from elephant’s tusks. Signals are sometimes given 
by them, but mostly by drums. There are two kinds of harps. 
One shaped somewhat like a lyre ; the half of a large gourd is taken 
and two holes made in it, into which are fitted two upright sticks, 
which diverge a little from each other. They are united near the 
top by a cross bar, from which six strings made of sinews are 
carried down, and passed through small holes made in the gourd, 
on the inside of which they are fastened to small pieces of wood. 
The gourd is then covered by a skin. This harp is rested on the 
knee and played with both hands. The other one is much larger 
and heavier, and rests upon the ground when played on. It is con- 
structed like a mandolin and has twelve strings, all of which are 
made of the sinews of animals. Another kind of musical instru- 
ment is a small bow, strung with horse-hair ; one end of this bow is 
placed iu the mouth against the teeth, and the music is produced by 
striking the hair with a switch. Gourds filled with small stones 
are used as rattles. Bells are made, the clappers of which are con- 
tinuous with the handle and do not move, but the bells strike 
against them. I will mention one more instrument resembling our 
hurdy-gurdy. An elongated drum has a large number of holes bored 
in its side, through which pointed sticks of varying lengths are 
driven. A crooked stick passes through the centre of the drum, and 
when turned it causes the pointed sticks to vibrate, producing 
strains of music marvellous. The only real orchestras to be found 
in Darfur are those composed of flutes, rattles, and sometimes small 
