History of African Drums

There is no denying that the modern musical percussions like drums in jazz, disco and rock bands can trace their roots back to Africa. Talking about the history of modern musical instruments inevitably leads us to a chapter or two about the history of African tribal dance drums.

African dance culture would be non-existent without drums. Rituals and religious ceremonies have a rhythmic zest that would be impossible without drums. And the drums have a variety of timber and built from one African tribe to another. The range of percussive instruments is too broad to handle here. And certainly, the variety of drums from Africa alone can fill an entire chapter, if not a book. Africa may be considered the drum capital of the world and the cradle of percussion music.

The Djembe

Of all the African drums that can be said to be culturally distinct to Africa, it is the Djembe. Variously called Djimbe, jembe, yembe, yambayani or susu, the Djembe drum has that unique goblet profile. With origins from the Kayes region in Mali and dating back to the 9th Century Mali Empire, the Djembe has spawned a number of minute variations around western and central Africa notably Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast. It is, thus, not only uniquely African that has survived to the present day, but its tonal signature is just as distinct. Ranging from the baby Djembe or the Ghana and Mali Djembe to the large Kangaba Djembe, authentic Djembe drums have become popular with quite a demand from among drumming circles worldwide.

The drum parchment is made of African goatskin. The preference for goatskin has geographic ethnic roots. Its origins centered on regions with a lot of grazing fields for goats. It made its world “première” to western audiences in Paris in 1940 with the Les Ballets Africains touring group that essentially popularized African drumming and dance traditions. Sure enough, the Djembe found wide acceptance in the decades after that. Modern artists like Paul Simon, Grateful Dead and Incubus reserved the Djembe for some of their compositions with extensive percussive rhythms.

Dunun and other African Drums

In traditional African music, the Djembe is played in a drum circle or ensemble with other ethnic African instruments like the Dunun bass drum and bells that together weave a distinctive African pulsing rhythm. With roots in Western Africa that coincided with the Djembe during the Mali Empire, the Dunun, also called Djun-Djun, is a cylindrical construction that closely matches in looks the modern bass drums used during parades. In fact, the modern orchestral bass drum is rooted on the Dunun. And just like the Djembe, the Dunun have been classified according to size and the pitch produced. They range from the smallest Kenkeni, the medium sized Sangban and the largest Doundounba that exhibits really deep sonorous bass beat. The Djembe ensemble would be incomplete with these drums.

African drums have made their way to the modern musical instruments through central and South American music in the early and mid 20th century. Their unmistakable influences are the following:

Calypso Music

Calypso is a recent dance and musical art form that came from the Caribbean islands notably Trinidad and Tobago in the early 20th century. Often referred to as an Afro-Caribbean musical style, it has its roots from African traditions where songs of social comment are sung to a percussive beat. It may often be difficult to distinguish between jazz influence on Calypso music or the other way around. But for sure, the percussions in calypso music have those distinctive African rhythmic roots.

Latinesque

Perez Prado and his percussive band have made Latin music popular in the west. With mostly Samba and Latin music, the group lend themselves easily to the rhythmic influences of African beat.

Colonial South and Central America developed a close affinity with Spanish and Portuguese music steeped in Moorish traditions. The Moors were the Muslims of the Mediterranean and Western Saharan tribes. Having conquered and ruled the Iberian Peninsula and Northern Africa for a time, their cultural heritage on the music of the region would certainly have that distinct Africa flavor that eventually made its way to the Americas.

The main Latin drums for the rumba, samba, mambo, salsa and cha-cha dances center on the conga and its variants. This is yet another Afro-Caribbean drum that while attaining popular use in Cuba, was derived from the conical African Makuta drums from Congo. The conga is also called a Tumbadora or Tumba and have that distinctive bodies made from hallowed tree logs. These days, the modern conga is made of fiberglass, though wood is still common.

Samba and Mambo are just two musical forms with clear influences from the various Afro-Caribbean dances that have become popular not only here, but everywhere else. Their pulsating rhythms have the wildness and exuberance common with African rhythms. And thanks to those Latin countries, our percussion instruments are richer from their African origins.