AKAN DRUM: THE OLDEST AFRICAN ARTEFACT IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Humans were not the only ones transported during this era, there were also items transported that now reside in some notable museums around the world. In the 17th and 18th century, slave trade was in full effect. During this period, the Portuguese, Dutch and British, established a profitable trade in gold and slaves in West Africa. This led to the migration of millions of Africans to Europe and other countries. items transported that now reside in some notable museums around the world.

They were some items transported during the slave trade era that now reside in some notable museums around the world. One of such is the Akan Drum which has now become the oldest artefact in the British Museum.

It is said that this drum was made in the early-18th century by the Akan people in present-day Ghana. While it was used mainly as a musical instrument during large celebrations, the Akan Drum was also used for communication between villages. As a talking drum, there were skilled drummers in each village who could understand the beats of the drum and know the message that was being passed across. These messages could be a call for celebration or even a declaration of war

The Akan Drum is made from carved wood from the tree Cordia Africana which grows in West Africa and it is decorated with animal skin stretched over. At first, it was thought that the Akan Drum was from India, but in the 19th century, a curator at the British Museum realized that it was actually from West Africa.

Some reports say the Akan Drum could have been a gift to a ship's captain or it was transported by an Akan chief as most slaves were not allowed to carry things like drums when they were sold. Presently, the Akan drum sits in the British Museum and it symbolizes the importance of music in African-America, today and during the period of slave trade. It is also a reminder of the slave trade era.