A slit drum, also called a slit gong, is a hollow instrument used to make music. It is often made from wood or bamboo. Even though it is sometimes called a drum, it is not a true drum because it does not have a drumhead. A drumhead is a thin layer, usually made of animal skin or plastic, that covers the top of a real drum. Instead, a slit drum is classified as an idiophone, a type of instrument that makes sound when the whole object vibrates.

Description

A slit drum is typically made from bamboo or wood. It has a mostly closed hollow shape with one or more slits. The drum is played by hitting near the edge of the slit. Some slits are straight lines, while others form "tongues" by cutting three sides of a rectangle and leaving the fourth side attached. Most slit drums have one slit, but some have two or three slits, which may look like an "H" and create two tongues. Tongues of different sizes or thicknesses make different sounds. Slit drums are used in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. In Africa, they are often placed in areas that help sound travel far, such as near rivers or valleys, for communication over long distances.

The ends of a slit drum are sealed, creating a hollow space that amplifies the sound when the tongues are struck with a stick or mallet. This hollow space increases the sound’s volume and allows it to escape through an open part of the drum. If the hollow space is the right size for the sound produced by the tongue, the drum will be louder and more efficient.

In Vanuatu, people make a similar drum from a large log. On most islands, the drum lies flat on the ground. In central islands, slit drums are stood upright and decorated with carvings on the outside that represent spirits. Though originally used on one island, these decorated drums are now a symbol of Vanuatu as a whole.

List of slit drums

• Enók – Manyu Division (Cameroon)
• Alimba – Zairean (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• Ekwe – Igbo people (Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea)
• Ikoro – Igbo people (Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea)
• Krin or Kolokolos – Guinea
• Lokole – Congo Basin
• Lukombé – (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• Mondo – West Africa
• Mukoku – Yaka people (Congo)
• Sudanese slit drum – Sudanese (Sudan)

• Grōg (mug, Krok, Kulo, Kla) – Wa people (China and Myanmar)

• Agung a Tamlang – Maguindanaon people (Philippines)
• Atingting kon – Ambrym people (Vanuatu)
• Garamut – Papuan and especially Tolai people (Papua New Guinea)
• Kagul – Maguindanaon people (Philippines)
• Kohkol – Sundanese people (Indonesia)
• Kentongan – Javanese people (Indonesia), used to wake people for sahur meals during Ramadan
• Kulkul – Balinese people (Indonesia)
• Lali – Fijian people (Fiji)
• Pahu – Māori people (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
• Pate – Samoa, Cook Islands, and other parts of Polynesia
• Tagutok (Philippine) – Maranao people (Philippines)
• Tōʻere – Tahitian people (Tahiti), also called Tōkere by Tuamotuans, Mangarevans, and Cook Islanders

• Huiringua – Mexico
• Mayohuacán – Taino people (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Caribbean)
• Teponaztli – Mesoamerican

• Gato – 20th-century American, originally a brand name, later used as a general term
• Tongue drum

The wooden fish functions similarly to a slit drum but is not usually grouped with other slit drums.