Djembe

What a djembe is

The djembe is a goblet-shaped drum with a wide bowl at the top and a narrow base. Its shell is carved from a single piece of hardwood and its head is usually goatskin, stretched over the opening with rope or metal rings. The player sits or stands with the drum between the knees, or hangs it from a strap, and strikes it with the bare hands.

The drum comes from the Mande world of West Africa, the region of the old Mali Empire, and it is played today in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Senegal and neighbouring countries. Everyone agrees on that; how old it is and who first made it is less clear. Some sources link its beginnings to the numu, the blacksmith families of the Mande, who also carve in wood; there are no written records to settle whether it is older or younger than the empire, and firm dates are hard to give.

The name

A popular story says the word djembe comes from the Bamana saying anke djé, anke bé, which is often translated as "everyone gather together in peace". It is a good story, and widely repeated in drum shops and teaching books, but treat it as tradition rather than as proof of the word's origin.

Three sounds

A djembe makes three basic sounds, and learning to tell them apart is the first step in playing:

• Bass: a deep note, played with the flat of the hand near the centre of the head.
• Tone: a clear, open note, played with the fingers near the rim.
• Slap: a sharp, high crack, also near the rim with the fingers loose.

In a traditional ensemble the djembe is rarely alone. Several djembes play interlocking patterns, together with the large bass drums called dunun, and the lead drummer — the djembefola — calls the changes of rhythm for the dancers.

How the djembe went round the world

Most of the world first heard the djembe through Les Ballets Africains, the dance company founded by the Guinean poet and composer Fodéba Keïta. Accounts give different dates for its founding, between 1948 and 1952; after Guinea's independence in 1958 it became the national ensemble of the new republic, and other newly independent countries followed with national ballets of their own.

Two of its drummers became teachers who shaped the way the instrument is learned. Famoudou Konaté was the principal djembe soloist of the Guinean national ballet from 1959 to 1985. When state funding for the ballets dried up after the death of President Sékou Touré in 1984, a number of djembefolas, among them Mamady Keïta (1950–2021), moved abroad and taught in Europe and North America, which is why the instrument is now played on every continent.

Buying and caring for a djembe

Traditional makers in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal still carve djembes from local woods with hand tools. Many djembes sold abroad are made differently, with substitute woods, machine carving, synthetic heads, fibreglass shells or mechanical tuning. These sound different and are not the same instrument; a seller should say which one you are buying. Keep a goatskin head away from damp and strong heat.

Questions

What is a djembe?

A goblet-shaped West African drum with a wooden shell and a goatskin head, played with the hands.

Where does the djembe come from?

From the Mande peoples of West Africa, in what are now Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal.

What does djembe mean?

A common explanation is the Bamana phrase anke djé, anke bé, "everyone gather together in peace", but this is tradition, not documented etymology.

How do you play the djembe?

With the bare hands, using three basic sounds: bass at the centre, tone and slap at the edge.

Is a djembe the same as a bongo or conga?

No. Congas and bongos come from Afro-Cuban music; the djembe is a West African drum and sounds and is played differently.

Further reading

The djembe sits beside other West African instruments: the balafon, the talking drum and the kora. For the wider picture, see West Africa and African musical instruments.