We recorded sessions of the bombolom, a percussion instrument made from a large, hollowed-out horizontal tree trunk (about 1 meter in length and 50 cm in diameter), filled with flinders and struck with two sticks. It is used as a communication tool, somewhat similar to church bells in Europe.

However, unlike its West African counterpart, the balafon, it cannot be used to convey complex messages. Instead, it serves as a messenger of urgency or a call for a community gathering.

As we were told, whatever you are doing, you must stop and go to the meeting place upon hearing its signal—whether it announces an emergency, a celebration, or a community assembly. We encountered the bombolom on almost every island we visited, in various sizes.

Listen to recording