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.
Meaning & stories
Ngoma is the heartbeat of the gathering: the drum, the dance and the event are one word.
Every object here carries a story its maker will tell you if you ask.
— Consortium field notes
CeremonyCommunityRitualStorytelling
Join the community
Meet them
Meet the artisans who keep this craft alive.
Have knowledge to share?
Contribute
Add a story, a technique or a video to this craft.
