Ngadji (drum)

Ngadji is a wooden drum with dimensions of 276.50 cm in height, 60 cm in width, and 70 cm in depth.[1] To the Pokomo people in Kenya, the instrument is a symbol of authority, spirituality, governance and social order. The drum is a museum artifact currently in the possession of the British Museum.[2] It was carved by a talented wood carver from a sacred tree made from a hollow tree trunk in which the dried skin is stretched in other to produce strong and powerful echoes. The size of the drum is more than five feet tall.

History

In 1908, colonial administrator Claud Hollis took Ngadji from Pokomo and gifted it to the British Museum.[3]

Cultural significance

Ngadji is a symbol of authority, governance and social order for the Pokomo people. It was designed to make loud and powerful reverberations in order to be heard along the Tana River. It has the ability to get the attention of Pokomo people and bring them together for spiritual, traditional ceremonies, and unification in worship. Unique reverberations of Ngadji are used in signaling the enthronement of the king.[4]

It goes beyond its physical form to connect to its importance and role in the community. It United the Pokomo people together for their activities. Council of elders named the Kidjo are connected to the drum because of the traditional authority they held and some of the spiritual practices they perform connected to the Ngadji drum. [4]

The absence of Ngadi created a void in the Pokomo's cultural and spiritual traditions of the Pokomo.


Repatriation efforts

Mkidjo Baiba's contact with Ngadji at the British Museums Archive led to the efforts in recovering the drum.

He was an indigene of Pokomo who knew about the history of the drum and was quick to identify the sacred drum at the British Museum after 100 years where he works and resides in Liverpool, United Kingdom. When he returned to Kenya, he called for the first meeting with the Chairman of the Gasa Council of Leaders, Mzee(Haye) Mohamed Akare Berhe. In this meeting, he shared the news of seeing the Ngadji drum with them. This was an exciting news to the community and Mkidjo Baiba Dhidha Mjidho was permitted to carry on with the plans to return the drum.[5] A

A cultural festival was held in the year 2014 in Hola which was actively supported by The Tana River Department of Tourism, Culture and Wildlife conservation in order to bring up the Pokomo traditional practices which included their dance, rituals and craft. A picture of the Ngadji drum was also displayed while the Gasa elders delivered speeches on the cultural significance of the drum while pushing the effort and importance of recovering it.

References

  1. ↑ "drum". The British Museum. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  2. ↑ "Recovery of the Ngadji Old". Black Initiative Alliance. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  3. ↑ Network, AIDO (11 December 2023). "Historic reunion of Kenya Pokomo King Dr. Makorani-a-Mungase VII with ancestral Ngadji over a century later". Aido Network International – Aidoers. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  4. 1 2 Africa, Open Restitution (29 January 2025). "The Return of Ngadji: A sacred drum stolen from the Pokomo people". Open Restitution Africa. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  5. ↑ "Recovery of the Ngadji". Black Initiative Alliance. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
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