Igbo slit drum / Trommel ufie or ikoro Nigeria


"The igbo slit drums come in three sizes. Unlike other families of musical intruments, the three sizes of slit drums never play as a family, and musically they do not perform similar functions. The largest of the slit drums is known as ufie or uhie, the medium size as ikolo or ikoro, and the smallest as ekwe. There has always been disagreement on the names of the largest and medium slit drum. The Igbos of Anambra State call the largest slit drum ikolo and the medium one ufie. The Igbos of Imo State call their largest slit drum uhie and the medium one ikoro. The only agreement among all the Igbos is with the small slit drum which is called ekwe by all."
Excerpt from: J.N. Lo-Bamijoko- Classification of Igbo musical instruments, Nigeria.p.23


"Ekwe (slit drum), later elevated to ikoro, is a popular traditional musical instrument associated with Igbo communities of Southeast Nigeria. It was used by the communities for sending coded messages to people... Ikoro is a monumental slit drum associated with Igbo communities, east of the River Niger. There appears not to be any physical deference between the ikoro and the ekwe log drums in that they are both related in outward appearance as musical and information dissemination devices. However, while a simple ekwe is smaller and could be used by men, women and children, Ikoro is bigger, male oriented and closely associated with warfare and other heroic deeds. Also, there exist other forms of ekwe instrument which are neither used by women and children nor referred to as ikoro . The Ufie, a pair of vertically placed slit drums and played for the Ozo titled chiefs fall into this category, so also is the Ekwe Dike and other drums owned by market deities for sending messages to people the same way the ikoro is used among the communities that own them."
Excerpt from: Chijioke Onuora - Ikoro drums among the Igbo: Iconology and design symbols. Page22 Department of Fine and Applied Arts University of Nigeria.

Bibliography:
Lo-Bamijoko,J.N. - Classification of Igbo musical instruments, Nigeria.
Chijioke Onuora - Ikoro drums among the Igbo: Iconology and design symbols. Page19-22 Department of Fine and Applied Arts University of Nigeria.
Aniakor, C.C. (1983). “Ikoro: Heroic Drums of Igbo People” Paper Presented during the Seminar on Igbo Life and Culture.
Berns, Marla C., Richard Fardon, and Sidney Littlefield Kasfir, eds. (2011) - Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley.
Cole, Herbert M., and Chike C. Aniakor. (1984) - Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos.
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Krieger, Kurt. (1969) - Westafrikanische Plastik. Berlin: Museum fur Volkerkunde.
Okafor, R.C.( 2005) - Music in Nigerian Society, Enugu: New Generation Books.
Partridge, Charles (1905) - Cross River Natives, Being Some Notes on the Primitive Pagans of Obubura Hill District, Southern Nigeria.