Umm Zaid writes of the Ramadan drummer at the Ramadanish blog, a group blog dedicated to sharing Ramadhan tips and experiences.

Today was the first time I heard the Ramadan drummer; we never had them in the other places I’ve lived. He carries a big drum, which he beats with a stick, and yells some sort of chant. The idea is to wake people up to eat about an hour before the adhan for tahajjud (which is about 15 minutes before the adhan of fajr — which is about to start any second now). At the end of Ramadan, he comes around to collect his due from the people.