Drumstick, E57.31

Curved wooden stick with knob on end. Hide thong tied around knob, extends down and tied around body of stick

Curved drum stick for talking drum. West Africa (Ghana?)
'Talking drum' sticks of this general shape are common in parts of West Africa, particularly from Nigeria through Ghana. A stick of this style would be commonly found in Ghana.

Drum stick for striking head/skin of 'talking drum'.

Wooden carved drum stick shaped like the letter 'L', except the right angle is rounded/gentle rather than abrupt. The long straight end is the handle, rounded and thicker than the rest of the stick it 'consumes' approx. half the total length of the stick at which point it rapidly decreases in diametre to become narrow and flat at the curve which then again expands to become an inverted rounded pyramid and then a larger rounded pyramd with its apex in the base of the 1st. The base of the last 'rounded pyramid' is the flat surface which strikes the head/skin of the drum. A thin strong length of twisted animal sinew is tightly bound around the interface of the 2 'rounded pyramids', drawn tight with the other end tightly bound mid-way along the stick on the handle portion. Likely this is done to maintain the right angle curve in the drum stick. A notch in the back side of the handle - where the sinew runs round - prevents the cord from sliding on the handle. Wood of stick is of natural light yellow with some dark lines from presumably minimal handling/use. General appearance is of 'acceptably' carved drum stick having received little use.

Length of stick from butt to striking end (running around right angle curve) = approx. mm. Diam. of butt of handle = approx.350 mm. Diameter of striking end of stick = approx. 26mm. Narrow neck at base of 1st 'rounded pyramid' = approx. diam. of 6mm.

Used on Atumpan drum (?) of Akan in Ghana. —Joel A Vanderburg

Collected by: G Ulrich Ghana