Democratic Republic of Congo  – Kasai cluster
Kuba

Wood, hide,  brass tacks, coins, fiber rope
Early-Mid 20th century
Height: 23 1/4 inches Diameter of Drum: 9 1/2 inches
Membranophone – Struck (Directly) – Single Headed

Kuba, also called Bakuba, are a cluster of about 16 Bantu-speaking groups in southeastern Congo (Kinshasa), living between the Kasai and Sankuru rivers east of where they converge.  This  Kuba drum comes from the Kasai cluster.  I consists of a hollow wood cylindrical resonator with a dark brown color, animal hide drum head, a human right arm and hand carved in relief on one side, with the name “Bope” incised on the forearm and the number “63” nearby.  There are three coins and brass tacks beneath the arm and two decorative bands encircling the drum with incised concentric diamonds, the lower band with symbolic figures at centers. 

Dance drums were played for entertainment and for ceremonial occasions.  The carved hand is both a visual pun (the drummer’s hand and the drum’s hand), and a reference to Iyol, the society of soldiers.  In the past, to join the Iyol, a man had to kill an enemy and bring proof to the town council in the form of a severed hand. (Boone 1951, 44; Vansina 1978, 377-78).  The face at the top of the handle, generally appears on royal objects.