Gome is a bass
drum made from a wooden square box, antelope skin and a tuning device normally
seen on a traditional cider press. Whilst sitting on the drum it is played
with the hands and heels of your feet.
Tamalin is a
rectangular drum with antelope skin, tuned with small wooden wedges. It is
played like the Irish bohran, held in one hand and played with the other,
but without a stick.
The Dance
Gome is the name of a dance which originated in the Congo and the Fernando
Po Islands. It has been played in Ghana from the eighteenth century, brought
in by the Congolese fisherfolk. The dance was first performed for the fishermen
on their return. It is now played at funerals, wedding ceremonies and
festivals.
