Drummers as a method of communication in olden times
Answers
In Africa, New Guinea and the tropical America, people have used drum telegraphy to communicate with each other from far away for centuries. When European expeditions came into the jungles to explore the local forest, they were surprised to find that the message of their coming and their intention was carried through the woods a step in advance of their arrival. An African message can be transmitted at the speed of 100 miles in an hour.[5]
Among the famous communication drums are the drums of West Africa (see talking drum). From regions known today as Nigeria and Ghana they spread across West Africa and to America and the Caribbean during the slave trade. There they were banned because they were being used by the slaves to communicate over long distances in a code unknown to their enslavers.[6]
Talking drums were also used in East Africa and are described by Andreus Bauer in the 'Street of Caravans' while acting as security guard in the Wissmann Truppe for the caravan of Charles Stokes.
The traditional drumming found in Africa is actually of three different types. Firstly, a rhythm can represent an idea (or signal); secondly it can repeat the accentual profile of a spoken utterance; or thirdly it can simply be subject to musical laws.
Drum communication methods are not languages in their own right; they are based on actual natural languages. The sounds produced are conventionalized or idiomatic signals based on speech patterns. The messages are normally very stereotyped and context-dependent. They lack the ability to form new combinations and expressions.
In central and east Africa, drum patterns represent the stresses, syllable lengths and tone of the particular African language. In tone languages, where syllables are associated with a certain tone, some words are distinguished only by their suprasegmental profile. Therefore, syllable drum languages can often transfer a message using the tonal phonemes alone.
In certain languages, the pitch of each syllable is uniquely determined in relation to each adjacent syllable. In these cases, messages can be transmitted as rapid beats at the same speed as speech as the rhythm and melody both match the equivalent spoken utterance.
Misinterpretations can occur due to the highly ambiguous nature of the communication. This is reduced by context effects and the use of stock phrases. For example, in Jabo, most stems are monosyllabic. By using a proverb or honorary title to create expanded versions of an animal, person's name or object, the corresponding single beat can be replaced with a rhythmic and melodic motif representing the subject. In practice not all listeners understand all of the stock phrases; the drum language is understood only to the level of their immediate concern.
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Sundials and Obelisks
In 1500 B.C simple sundials were used to divide the time interval between sunrise and sunset in 12 different parts. The Ancient Egyptian Obelisks, constructed about 3500 B.C was the oldest shadow clock used to measure time. The shadows that move to different marks enabled the Egyptians to calculate time which helped to divide day into two parts. It also solicited summer and winter.
Sand-glass
The sand-glass/ hourglass, made up of two conical glass connected vertically by the narrow neck, came into being in the 14th Century. It could measure passage of specific time period depending upon the size and width of the glass and the quantity of sand in it. This tool of measurement was considered more accurate than the water clock or a candle clock.
Water clock
Water clock was known to have existed in Babylon in Egypt around 16th Century. It was used to measure time observing steady flow of water from or into a container. Measurements were marked on the container but there were variations due to the pressure of water flow.
Candle clock
The candle was marked with numbers and the burning of wax indicated a specific period of time. It is unknown where the candle clocks were used although it was first referred by a Chinese poet called You Jiangu in 520 A.D.
Pendulum
A scientific study was done around 1602 by an Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei on pendulum where its motion was used to keep a track of time. It was considered to the the world’s most accurate time-keeping invention until 1930. The pendulum clock was invented by Christian Huygens in the year 1658 which was used till 270 years and was world-wide credited for its accuracy.
The Quartz
In early 20th Century, Albert Einstein proposed theories of relativity and defined time as the fourth dimension. The Quartz clocks were developed in 1930 which were far more improvised version of a pendulum clock. The quartz crystal has to be placed in the suitable circuit in a way that creates interaction between mechanical stress and electric field which creates vibration in the crystal to generate a constant frequency. This is used to operate electronic clock display.
Last, the atomic and laser invention in 1960’s has changed the measurement of time forever. Also, we never know what future the time holds!