Consisting of two hand drums, the bongo is one of the most popular and best known percussive instruments around. These ethnic drums were brought to Cuba during the South American slave trade in the 19th Century.
This simple drum is played by holding the pair of hand drums firmly between the thighs in a sitting position. In order to produce the different sound tuning, the two drums differ in size; the smaller called the female and the larger drum known as the male. By slapping the hands across the two drum skins a percussive rhythm is made.
Tribal style bongo drum skins were first made using rawhide or goatskin, but it is more common nowadays for bongo skins to be made of synthetic materials.