Bongos
Cuban name for a pair of small, single-headed hand drums. The two drums are joined together, and usually held between the knees when played in a sitting position.

Brekete
West African drum with two snared heads, played with sticks.

Casaba
A hand-held instrument made from a gourd. Beads are strung over the body of the gourd so that a rattling sound is produced when it is shaken or rubbed.

Caxixi
A small wooden grass shaker.

Claves
Two cylindrical pieces of hardwood. One is rested across the front of a half-closed fist and struck with the other, producing a sharp tick or clack. Origin: Latin.

Congas
A tall narrow single-headed drum played with the hands. Originally from Cuba, it is usually played in sets of two or three of different sizes. Common sizes are the tumba (largest), the conga (medium), and the quinta (smallest).
Cowbell: A long, square bell that is struck with a mallet.

Djembe Drum
A large goblet-shaped African drum from the Ivory Coast, traditionally carved out of one log. It yields a resonant bass tone when struck in the middle, and a high ringing tone when struck on the rim.

Djun Djun Drum
A large two-headed drum made of wood or possibly oilcans. Often used with the djembe drum, playing the role of the bass drum. The drum is probably the most widely used African instrument.
Gankogui: Iron hand bell, consisting of two bells vibrating together on the same handle, one low pitched, the other higher pitched. The gankogui is held in one hand and struck with a stick.

Guiro
A gourd that has been carved so that it is ribbed along most of its length. It is played by rubbing a stick across the ribbing, producing a "zipping" sound. Gyil: A 17-key xylophone, five feet long.

Kpanlogo
A well-known African peg drum, it is similar in shape and sound to the conga drum. Antelope skin is stretched over the head, producing a tender and resounding sound.

Log Drum
The modern equivalent of the ancient hollow tree trunk.

Mbira
An instrument of Zimbabwe, the mbira consists of 20 to 24 flattened metal prongs that are fastened to a wooden box-shaped resonator body. The mbira then sits in a gourd, called a calabash, which acts as a resonator. The ends of the prongs are plucked.

Marimba
An African keyboard percussion instrument consisting of tuned wooden bars with a resonator below each bar. The notes usually span several octaves.

Rain Stick
A long hollow tube made of wood and filled with small beads. There is a comb-like structure inside of the tube and, when the stick is turned end-on-end, the beads course along this structure making a pitter-patter sound that sounds like rain. The structure is often a sequence of thin rods, each inserted across a diameter of the stick.

Shekere
A gourd covered with a woven, beaded webbing that is used as a shaker.

Taiko Bass Drum
A large drum from Japan made by stretching skin over a large barrel.

Talking Drum
A drum used originally for communication between villages. Usually an hourglass shaped two-headed drum where the heads are laced together with thongs of gut or leather. The drum is typically held between the arm and body so that varying pressure can be applied to the thongs that alters the drum's pitch, thus allowing it to "talk." Just as in some African languages, a change in pitch can alter the meaning of the "words." Tambourine: A wooden circle equipped with tiny cymbals, covered with hide.

Timbale
This drum is of Latin origin, and is now made of a steel shell. Triangle: A metal triangle hit with a mallet that produces a metallic bell sound.

Udu
A clay pot drum based on those created by the Ibo and Hausa tribes in Nigeria. This drum came about when some ancient village potters struck a second opening - a hole in the side - in a clay water vessel and discovered the beautiful sound it produced. The deep haunting tones it produced were thought to be the "voices of the ancestors."

Nutshell shaker
Shaker made of nutshells.

Zulu Cocoon Rattle
Dance rattle of the Zulu peoples of South Africa. Three rows of cocoons sewn onto calfskin bands. Zambia rattle: Rattle made from seed pods.

Jungle rattle
Rattle from Kenya. A metal body with natural skinheads and lacing and a wooden handle.

Gourd rattle
This African rattle made from a gourd with a natural wooden handle is a great percussion instrument for many purposes.

Gankoqui Double Bells
These double bells are hand forged by the best Ewe blacksmiths and are used for all of their traditional music. The gankoqui is created from iron that is heated to blistering temperature, hammered and shaped to the proper size, and set back in the fire for tempering.

Washboard
washboard that is struck and rubbed with a mallet.