Mayohuacán
The mayohuacán or bayohabao was a wooden slit drum played by the indigenous Taíno people of the Caribbean. The instrument was played during sacred ceremonies, most notably the areíto. The drum was made of a thin wood and was shaped like an elongated gourd that measured up to one metre long and half a metre wide. According to early accounts of the taíno such as Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés' La historia general y natural de las Indias, the sound produced by the mayohuacán could be heard as far as a "league and a half away". These were played by leaders of the tribe as accompaniment to songs which were used to pass on customs and laws to younger generations.
