Bara (drum)

For other uses, see Bara (disambiguation).
Bara
A bara drum from Burkina Faso (there called bendré)
Percussion instrument
Classification Membranophone
Hornbostel–Sachs classification211.11
(Kettle drum)
DevelopedWest Africa

The bara (Bambara: ߓߊ߬ߙߊ;[1] also called bendré)[2] is a spherical hand drum with a body made from a dried gourd or calabash, used in West Africa (primarily Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire,[2] and Mali).[2] Its single head is made of goatskin.[3] To make the drum, a dried gourd is cut on one end and a single head made of goatskin is stretched across the opening.[3] Bara drums come in various sizes, some quite large. The instrument is often used to accompany the balafon.[4][5]

The bara has been used in the music of the Malian musicians Yaya Diallo and Habib Koité.[6]

  1. ^ Faya Ismael Tolno (September 2011). "Les Recherches linguistiques de l'école N'ko" (PDF). Dalou Kende (in French). No. 19. Kanjamadi. p. 7. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "THE BENDRÉ". Archived from the original on 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  3. ^ a b "Bara". BéréSanké Percussion. Archived from the original on 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  4. ^ "Bendre Baradunun 1 - Small bendré baradunun drum". www.african-percussion.net. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
  5. ^ Pandey, Ashish. Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Music. pp. 61, 162. ISBN 81-8205-291-2.
  6. ^ "Habib Koite interview". Afropop. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28.