buy This slit drum is a Kata, often featured in African and South American music. This kata is made in the USA, handcrafted from 100% bamboo. It is adorned with pebble-like shapes or river-rocks, engraved randomly along the sides. It's been slathered with a rich cherry stain, and covered with a protective clear wax finish. Similarly, mallets are formed from stained wooden dowels, and protected with the same clear wax finish. The result is a subtle dark beauty, which you can play either sitting or standing. My favorite way to play is to hold the kata between my knees while sitting. You strike it with wooden mallets to produce a sharp, bright, woody sound. The pitch varies slightly between the middle and the ends, and depending on whether you strike near the single slit or near the double slit. The volume varies by how hard you strike it. One end bears a small round hole to facilitate the sound.
Edition: One-of-a-kind playable & collectible kata bamboo slit drum
Materials: Bamboo, wooden dowels, cherry stain, clear wax finish
Dimensions: 19 inches long, 4.5-5.5 inches in diameter
Katas—also called slit drums—have been found all over the world. Ancient slit drums were found among the ruins of the Aztecs & Incas in South America, as well as in Southeast Asia, Australia, & Africa. Other names for it include Boulo Cata, Krin, or Yalabajah. It's the same idea, whatever you call it—a hollow cylinder with a narrow slit along the side. Sometimes two slits are cut, sometimes a hole in one end as well. Kata slit drums are a percussion instrument, classified as directly struck idiophones.
Original artwork by Cy Heyer.
Product code: Slit Drum, AKA Bamboo Kata, Krin, Boulo Cata, buy Percussion Musical Instrument. Boho Burning Man Hip