Bomba Drum: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

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.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: ca 1954
• Object Name: drum
• Physical Description: goatskin (hide material)
• Physical Description: iron (overall material)
• Physical Description: paint (overall material)
• Physical Description: 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
• general subject association: Music
• ID Number: 1983.0686.01
• accession number: 1983.0686
• catalog number: 1983.0686.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Rafael Cepeda Atiles
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.