gumbé
The gumbé or bench drum is a frame drum found in French Guiana, Jamaica and Sierra Leone. It is small in size, has a square frame, and one goat-skin drumhead. The gumbé was introduced in Sierra Leone in 1800 by Jamaican Maroon settlers.
Also recorded as bench drum · gumbé drum
gumbé
- Name
- Gumbé
- Field
- musical instrument
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
The gumbé or bench drum is a frame drum found in French Guiana, Jamaica and Sierra Leone. It is small in size, has a square frame, and one goat-skin drumhead. The gumbé was introduced in Sierra Leone in 1800 by Jamaican Maroon settlers.
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wikidata · Q5618064
In this article
Overview
Overview
The ceremonial maroon music played with the gumbé gradually became a popular Creole music genre in Sierra Leone. It became known as Gumbé music and dance (named after the drum) and still exists today. Over time, it lost its specific association with Maroons and became identified with the broader Creole population of Sierra Leone.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Gumbé • Background — percussion • Names — Bench drum • Classification — Frame drum • Hornbostel Sachs — 211.311 • Hornbostel Sachs Desc — Directly struck membranophone
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Further particulars
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Further particulars
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The trans-atlantic journey of Gumbé: where and why has it survived?, African Music: Journal of the International Library of African Music, 2012.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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