DRUMS

 Drums in African tradition are a source of power. They also bring the power that drives a performance. Drum music is not merely entertainment, but is ultimately bound to visual and dramatic arts as well as the larger fabric of life. Drums are used for "talking," that is, sending information and signals by imitating speech. Many African languages are both tonal and rhythmic, giving speech a musical quality that may be imitated by drums. Drumming music and dance are also an accompaniment for any manner of ceremony; birth, marriages, funerals. The Engalabi(long drum) is traditional drum from the Buganda region and it has an important role in ceremonies and in theater. It is called "Okwabya olumbe", the installation of a successor to the deceased because it leads this ceremony.