The lali or large wooden slit drum is an instrument of communication used in Samoa to convey messages over long distances, a form of modern Morse code. Anecdotal evidence suggests there were different beats to inform listeners of particular events to which they were being called.

I recently heard two small lali being played in Vailoa, Palauli, in Savaii. When asked what the occasion was, I was told it was to call people together for a choir practice. When questioned if there were other beats and rhythms that may be played for other purposes, the answer was no; the same beat is played for all events. But this beat, as to be expected, varies from drummer to drummer, from village to village.

That the diverse rhythmic codes of lali and logo drumming may no longer be deciphered in modern Samoa is an example of yet another cultural expression in decline. But while the intangible cultural heritage associated with the beat may be diminishing, the material culture, the making of these slit drums, may be revived and lead to new messaging codes.

Even the words lali and logo seem enigmatic with many people switching the words used for the large and medium sized drums. The word logo is also used for bell and in front of many churches in Samoa today, gas bottles are struck to call the faithful to devotional services. The repetitive “ding ding” of these modern church bells can be heard on Sunday mornings in many, if not all villages. It is interesting to note that this slow, rhythmic beating is echoed in the drumming of the lali. The human heart also beats twice before pausing. Could there be a connection?

Perhaps. What is known to many, is that lali may not have been used for music, for song and dance. It seems these large slit drums were used to announce more solemn occasions such as funerals, or a call to arms in times of war. Festive occasions were and still are the domain of the smallest cousin of the lali, the pātē, a miniture lali with a much higher pitched sound. All three wooden drums have slits for openings and the sounds emitted vary with size of drum and the width of slit. How much the drum is hollowed out also affects the pitch.

“E tū manu ae le tū logologo” is an old Samoan proverb. It means that birds tire and must stand from time to time whereas the telling of stories, news, never stops. Let’s hope the drumming of lali, logo and pātē will be like the news that never rests.