Nkul Slit Gong
The nkul is a wooden slit gong of the Beti and related peoples of southern Cameroon, made from a hollowed log with a long longitudinal slit that is beaten with sticks to produce two distinct tones. In forest villages where sound carries poorly, the nkul served as a talking instrument: different rhythms announced deaths, births, hunting results, danger, and the summons to ritual, and a skilled beater could be understood over several kilometres of valley. It also marked the rhythm of communal life, accompanying dances, initiations, and the sessions of the secret societies, and the largest gongs