Minneapolis Institute of Art

Drum

Akan artist

Date: about 1950
Medium: Wood, animal skin, string, pigments
Culture: Akan
Department: Arts of Global Africa
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Art

Akan communities in southern Ghana have a tradition in which popular bands compete in instrumental, choral, and dance performances. The master drum, sometimes identified as the “mother of the group, ” is the musical and visual focal point of each band. The gesture of the woman, her finger pointing to her eye, may refer to the proverb, “If you can hear, can you not also see?”—emphasizing the importance of using all the senses. Or it may be a warning to the other bands: “Wait and see who is going to win.” Africa

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