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.
Connections to other crafts
2 parallels · written by the consortium Ngoma drum Bendir
Strong parallel · share: Shared material: animal skin on a wooden body; shared role in ritual
Both accompany spiritual and community ceremonies.
Ngoma drum Dùndún drum
Strong parallel · share: Carved wooden body with an animal skin head
Both have a wooden body carved by hand and covered with animal skin; the dùndún's cords change its pitch while playing, while the ngoma's skin is pegged onto the body.
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