djembe

plural djembes · alternative djembé · alternative jembe · alternative jenbe · alternative djimbe · alternative jimbe · alternative dyinbe

1. entertainmentA large, rope-tuned, skin-covered drum played with the bare hands, used in West African and some fusion music.

   The djembe is one of the best-known and popular African drums, particular with those in the West who are interested in learning a drumming tradition.

   2009, Tamara Dean, Composition for Computer Musicians, page 51

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   There are three principal types of traditional drums in Guinean Sousou culture: the djembe, the dundun, and the tama. The djembe is a single-headed goblet-shaped drum with a relatively high-pitched tone.

   2007, Karin Gaynell Patterson, Expressions of Africa in Los Angeles Public Performance, 1781—1994, page 133

   The djembe has become the most recognizable drum from West Africa, with a history that can be traced to the twelfth century Mali Empire and the Mandinka people.

   2010, Randy Raine-Reusch, Play the World: The 101 World Instrument Primer, page 91

   Very few djembes are perfectly round. Most are slightly egg- or triangle-shaped. Lack of roundness is not a problem for sound: many such djembes sound excellent.

   2012, Michi Henning, Djembe Construction: A Comprehensive Guide, page 13