based on images of SLOANE's STRUM STRUM instrument
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Sir Hans Sloane found enslaved Africans playing gourd instruments with wooden necks in Jamaica between 1687-1689. A drawing of the "Strum Strum" was published in his A Voyage to the Islands of Madera Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica (1707). A second version of this image, apparently a drawing made in preparation for the published version, turned up more recently. This version of the image included measurements of the original image, which was under two feet long with a gourd about 6 inches wide. Pete had this image enlarged to the actual size of the instrument, and made templates from this enlargement.
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Although not visible in the original image, the original collection notes for the "Strum-Strum" said that the gourd was "holed in sides." Pete has recreated this in his Strum-Strum.
The wooden neck is mahogany, similar to that in the Haitian Banza and the tacks that fasten the head are cut from ironwood, a tree found in Jamaica. The Strum Strum is finished and patinated with methods similar to those used on the Haitian Banza reproduction.
The wooden neck is mahogany, similar to that in the Haitian Banza and the tacks that fasten the head are cut from ironwood, a tree found in Jamaica. The Strum Strum is finished and patinated with methods similar to those used on the Haitian Banza reproduction.