slit drum, slit log, slit-log, 'o'o

Slit-log drumming system used by the ’Are’are people of Malaita in the Solomon Islands, described in Zemp (1997) and Linton (2013). The instrument itself (’o’o in ’Are’are) is a hollowed hardwood log with a longitudinal slit, struck with two beaters; a given drum only produces a single pitch level, and the surrogate system does not rely on variations in pitch (Zemp 1997:229). The language is not tonal (Naitoro 2013). The encoding system is twofold based on the context of use. In ensemble settings, some musical pieces rhythmically encode phrases based on syllables and vowel length (202). Roughly, rhythmic groupings with short durations correspond to CV syllables; long durations correspond to CVː or CVV syllables (202). Intervocalic epenthesis and vowel shortening processes of rapid speech can be reproduced on the drum; e.g., pronouncing Su-a 'e to 'o aaku as “[Su-a-e-to-a-ku]” with the syllable aa [a] corresponding to a short duration strike (202). The title of each piece is often drawn from these texts, which may not have any connection to the festival or localized genealogy with which they are associated in performance Content of these pieces include short phrases as well onomatopoeic expressions derived from the sounds of the natural world, animals, and people. Played solo, the drum is used for signal communication. Solo’o’o signals do not abridge phonological structure: “les pièces frappées sur un seul tambour pour envoyer des messages précis… ne semblent pas être basées sur une parole, ni sur le titre de la pièce … Le rythme correspond directement à un concept [pieces drummed on a single slit-log for signaling specific messages… do not appear to be based on the lyrics or title of the piece … the rhythm directly corresponds to a concept]” (230). Signals can be combined with names and localized genealogies to identify the subject of a message. Content includes signals announcing festivals, church services and events, alerting the community to deaths and criminal activities, and the names of individuals and of localized genealogies.

Linton, S. (2013). The Music of ‘Are’are: Acoustemology, Environmental Influences and Sustainability (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy). University of Otago. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/4368 ,Naitoro, K. (2013). A sketch grammar of ’Are’are: The sound system and morpho-syntax [University of Canterbury]. https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/handle/10092/8085 ,Zemp, H. (1997). Composer et interpréter des rythmes. Musique et langage tambouriné chez les ’Aré’aré. Cahiers de musiques traditionnelles, 10, 191. https://doi.org/10.2307/40240272