A Piece of African Culture The Djembe

History- The djembe is a hand crafted African drum. The djembe is also known as jembe, jenbe, yembe or sanbanyi in Susu. The drum is played with the bare hands. It is one of the most popular African drums. Most traditional African djembe drums are hand carved in Indonesia or other parts in Asia from a single piece of wood. In Africa the wood is usually made of African mahogany or iroko. Some modern djembe drums are made of synthetic materials such as Acousticon. The drum skin is commonly made of goatskin, but other animal skins may also be used, although they are more rarely used, such as antelope, zebra, deer or calf skin. The female skin is usually preferred and is always made from the babies, never the adult skin. The skin is strapped to the base usually with cords. The origin of the djembe is associated with a class of Mandinka/Susu blacksmiths known as Numu. The spread of the djembe drums throughout West Africa may be due to Numu migrations dating from the first millennium A.D. They also date back to the Mali Empire of the 19th century.