Negarit

Drums in a church in Lalibela

Negarit is a large barrel drum in Ethiopia that is no longer played . She was beaten with sticks and was the symbol of imperial power.

The negarit was the ruler's war drum, it was played during proclamations and carried ahead of the ruler's group when traveling. The number of drums a person was allowed to wield was based on their rank and importance. It could be several dozen. In addition to the emperor of Ethiopia, the administrators of the largest provinces and various dignitaries, including the ras , had the right to use the negarit. In terms of its function and name, the negarit is associated with the widespread group of Arabic cup drums, naqqara .

The other two traditional drums in Ethiopia are the large, hand-beaten church drum kebero , which is used on holidays, and the small, hand-beaten atamo , which is played at family celebrations and to accompany dance in folk music.

Web links

• GE Gorfu: The Legend of the Great Drum. Meskot 1997

Individual evidence

1. ^ Roger Blench: The Morphology and Distribution of Sub-Saharan Musical Instruments of North-African, Middle Eastern, and Asian, Origin. (PDF; 463 kB) In: Laurence Picken (Ed.): Musica Asiatica. Vol. 4. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1984, p. 161, ISBN 0-521-27837-6