A ''Lali'' is an idiophonic

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

an drum of the wooden

slit drum A slit drum or slit gong is a hollow percussion instrument. In spite of the name, it is not a true drum but an idiophone, usually carved or constructed from bamboo or wood into a box with one or more slits in the top. Most slit drums have one slit ...

type similar to the

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

Pate Pate, pâté, or paté may refer to: Foods Pâté 'pastry' * Pâté, various French meat forcemeat pies or loaves * Pâté haïtien or Haitian patty, a meat-filled puff pastry dish * ''Pate'' or ''paté'' (anglicized spellings), the Virgin Isla ...

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

found throughout

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

. It was an important part of traditional Fijian culture, used as a form of communication to announce births, deaths and wars. A smaller form of the Lali drum (''Lali ni meke'') is used in music. Lali drums are now used to call the people of an area together, such as church services; the Lali is also used to entertain guests at many hotel resorts. The Lali drum is made out of wood and played with hands but, is most commonly played with sticks (''i uaua'') which are made out of softer wood so as not to damage the Lali. Historically, a larger and smaller stick were used together when playing the Lali. Lali drums were traditionally made from resonant timbers such as ''Ta vola'' (''

Terminalia catappa ''Terminalia catappa'' is a large tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and Seychelles. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, sea almon ...

'') and ''Dilo'' (''Calophyllum inophyllum'') or in the case of sacred drums for spirit houses, ''Vesi'' (''

Calophyllum inophyllum ''Calophyllum inophyllum'' is a large evergreen plant, commonly called tamanu, oil-nut, mastwood, beach calophyllum or beautyleaf. It is native to tropical Asia and Wallacea. Due to its importance as a source of timber for the traditional shi ...

''). Portable war drums (''Lali ni Valou'') had two or three resonating chambers and sent complicated signals over the battlefield. Frequently Lali occurred in pairs, one smaller than the other, and were played together, in counterpoint. This rarely occurs in contemporary usage. Sometimes special structures known as ''Bure ni Lali'' (lit. ''house for Lali'') are constructed to keep the rain from filling the Lali and wetting the drummers.Ewins, R. 1982. Fijian Artefacts; Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Collection.

Gallery

File:Pair of Lali drums.JPG, Lali drums at the Westin Hotel Resort and Spa, Denarau, Nadi. File:Lali drum.JPG, Lali outside a shop in Vatukarasa village, Coral Coast, Fiji. File:Lali drum in Suva Museum.JPG, Lali drum in Fiji Museum, Suva. Formerly used by Wesleyan Methodist Church in Suva.

Further images

Man playing Lali (historical photograph)Man playing Lali-ni-Meke dance drum (historical photograph)

References

Fijian musical instruments Drums {{Idiophone-instrument-stub