Object Details
Description
This wooden-cask drum was used to play bomba, one of the oldest forms of music in Puerto Rico. One end of the drum is covered in animal skin with a fur fringe. This is held in place by a wooden band that is tensioned with fiber ropes hooked on four wooden pegs driven into the sides. Bomba was created on the plantations of Puerto Rico by enslaved Africans and their descendants in the 1680s. Like the Cuban rumba, bomba must include dance in its performance, reflecting its west African musical origins. Bomba ensembles usually feature three differently pitched drums and a single maraca.
Credit Line
Gift of Rafael Cepeda Atiles
date made
ca 1954
ID Number
1983.0686.01
accession number
1983.0686
catalog number
1983.0686.01
Object Name
drum
Physical Description
goatskin (hide material)
iron (overall material)
paint (overall material)
wood (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 26 cm x 26 cm x 6.5 cm; 10 1/4 in x 10 1/4 in x 2 9/16 in
Place Made
Puerto Rico: San Juan, San Juan
location where used
Puerto Rico
See more items in
Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
Music & Musical Instruments
Cultures & Communities
Artifact Walls exhibit
Many Voices, One Nation
Exhibition
Many Voices, One Nation
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
Data Source
National Museum of American History
general subject association
Music
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_681731