Slit Drum
Culture: Yaka
Country: Zaire
Wood
Divination instrument used by diviner to assist client with problem.
Divination arts are practiced in many African societies with a wide range
of objects. Mostly, divination is a process of making decisions and solving
problems. Often illness and unexplained deaths are believed to be caused
by offended ancestors or neglected deities. The diviner identifies the cause
of the problem and prescribes a remedy. Instruments can include masks, the
diviner's costume, figurative sculpture, tappers, carved bowls, birdstaffs
and more. For example, the Yaka people use narrow cylindrical slit-drums
for the divination purposes. The handle of the slit-drum is usually a carved
head. The drum functions in several ways. It is used for preparing divinatory
medicines, it is beaten at a diviner's funeral, or it is used to announce
the diviner's presence in a village he has journeyed to. Positioned on the
ground horizontally, the slit-drum also serves as a stool.