Kenya ✓ Verified craft Log drum
Ngoma drum
Traditional drum used in ceremonies, rites of passage and storytelling across Kenyan communities.
Animal skinWood CarvingSkin stretchingTensioning
Ngoma means both 'drum' and 'dance' in Swahili and many Bantu languages. Ngoma drums have a body carved or hollowed from wood, covered with animal skin, mostly cattle hide, pegged onto the body. They lead ceremonies, weddings, initiations and community dances.
Key information
Type
Log drum
Materials
Animal skin, Wood
Techniques
Carving, Skin stretching, Tensioning
Origin
Kenya
Regions
Nairobi, Mombasa
Transmission
Community, master to apprentice
Active since
Living tradition
Meaning & stories
Ngoma is the heartbeat of the gathering: the drum, the dance and the event are one word.
Read the full story →From challenges to innovations
Challenges
- Large logs are scarce because of deforestation, according to ngoma maker Amina N.
- Loss of ceremonial contexts
Existing innovations
- Recycled-material bodies
- Ngoma in schools
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