what is asalato?
The asalato is a musical instrument in the percussion family orignating from West Africa. The asalato has a significant performing subculture in Japan as well as internationally online.
The asalato consists of two gourds filled with seeds or pebbles, connected by a rope. It is played with one asalato (two gourds) in each hand.
It being a percussion instrument means that it is a musical instrument which makes sound through being hit, shaken, or scraped. Other instruments in the percussion family include drums and xylophones.
Asalato is specifically a type of shaker, a percussion instrument that produces sound through shaking the instrument. However, it also produces sounds through clicking the two gourds together.
Asalato are traditionally made using the gourds of the Oncoba spinosa tree (fried egg tree).
The asalato has a wide variety of names, which originate from different ethnic groups within West Africa. Names include kashaka, televi, cas cas, aslatua, kisseng kisseng, kosh kash, damlankosso, among others.
performance examples
Here are some examples of asalato playing from around the world.