The History of the Cow Drum

The drum is made from reddish African coral wood found in the forests of Central Africa. It's a durable hardwood, often chosen to make drums with because it stands up well to repeated striking. The main function of the drum in this first period of its life was music making and marking community events such as births, deaths and feasts. Europeans dubbed these slit drums talking drums, because they were used to speak to people at ceremonies,. Their sound can carry for miles, calling men either to hunt or to war. When the Egyptians took control of Sudan in the 1820s, the slave trade intensified. Slave raiding and trading became one of the most profitable and powerful industries of the region.