Bongos

The Atlantic slave trade brought bongos to South America. The history of bongo drumming can be traced to the Cuban music styles known as Changui and Son. These styles first developed in eastern Cuba, in the late 19th century. Initially, the bongo had heads, which were tacked and tuned with a heat source. By the 1940s, metal tuning lugs developed to facilitate easier tuning.

It is believed that Bongos evolved from the Abakua Drum trio ‘Bonko’ and its lead drum ‘Bonko Enmiwewos’. These drums are still a fundamental part of the Abakua Religion in Cuba. If joined with a wooden peck in the middle, such drums would look much like the bongos we know today.

Bongo-like drums with ceramic bodies and goatskin or rawhide heads are found in Morocco where they are known as tbila, as well as in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries. They can sometimes be found accompanying flamenco and other traditional Spanish music, partially because of the Moorish influence in Spain. Ceramic bongos are more common in the Middle East and Asia than they are in South America; this is because wooden bongos were brought to Cuba during the slave trade.