Nigeria
Yoruba

Wood, goat hide, fiber rope
Mid-Late 20th century
Length: 15 in; Diameter: 10 in
Membranophone – Struck (Directly) – Single Headed

This Yoruba hollowed drum is surmounted by a tight leather head and secured by wooden pegs, and fiber rope.  Igbin drums were used throughout Yorubaland, fostering both belief and prestige. They are used both as a musical instrument and as a work of sculpture (see examples A & B in this collection) in many ceremonial functions.   Drums, such as this are called ‘gb’n’ (Igbin) and were used in many segments of Yoruba ritual, civic, and spiritual practice.  Without the music of the Igbin drums most funerals, festivals, and incantations at ceremonies would not be complete.

According to Leo Frobenius -‘Die Atlantische Gotterlehre –  1926’:  The relationship between people and drums in Yoruba society provided access to spiritual, ontological, and cultural information that is visible and invisible.  The drums allowed this information to be accessed through sound, symbols, basic design, and characteristic rhythms.