Among the Asante and neighboring peoples, voluntary music associations provide entertainment for a variety of occasions, including weddings, funerals and festivals. Many of the motifs on his drums relate to Asante proverbs and refer to the qualities the society seeks in its members or to the society's relationship to the town. For example, the motif of the crescent moon and star states that while the star is more reliable, the changeable moon is brighter; musical fashions change like the moon.

On the front between the fastenings for the drumhead is the British coat of arms with the lion and the unicorn. The two circular recessed areas below the breasts, could have held photographs, perhaps of British or local royalty.