Drum (pliwo)
Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire): Senufo people
20th century
Wood and hide
41 1/8 x 18 1/2 in. diam. (104.458 x 46.99 cm)
Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Marcus, 1981.139.FA

In traditional African societies, drums have served as both musical instruments and a means of communication, like an amplified telephone. Among the Senufo, four-legged drums like this one were played or displayed in various contexts, for example, coming-of-age ceremonies for boys and girls, funerals of high-ranking members of the men’s poro and women’s tyekpa societies, which provided leadership and social control, and at champion cultivator contests. Such drums also sounded the call to war.

This drum, which is carved from one piece of wood, is decorated with familiar bas-relief images that have meaning to the Senufo. For example, a horned Kpeliye mask is an emblem of the Junior Grade of the men’s poro society; a python (fo), flanked by two birds, is the messenger of the spirit world; a crocodile or giant lizard (wotyon) symbolizes destructive forces; and the turtle (solo) symbolizes water and the Creation. The shackles refer to the historical past: the Sudanese wars during the 19th century and chained Senufo prisoners. The drum’s base is in the form of four highly stylized human legs, a reference to the human support required during ceremonial usage.