A type of drum played with both bare hands. It is in widespread use primarily in Mali and Guinea among the Maninka and Susu peoples, and also in neighbouring Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso; it is also perhaps the most popular African drum outside the African continent (several dozen CDs have been released since the late 1980s; for discography see Charry). The jembe is 58–64 cm tall and has a goatskin (formerly antelope) head 30–38 cm in diameter. The upper third is bowl-shaped and the bottom two thirds is cylindrical with a slight outward flare in certain varieties. The head is mounted with a high degree of tension, requiring metal rings on either end of the bowl through which rope (formerly hide) is threaded. For performances, three metal plaques, called sekeseke in Mali, with rings along the edges are inserted into the sides, creating a jingling sound. Although there are no hereditary restrictions on who may play the jembe, the instrument is associated with Maninka and Susu blacksmiths, called numu, perhaps because they were creators of the metal tools needed to carve the wooden body. The numu family names Camara, Doumbia and Kante are frequently found among jembe players, along with Mande noble family names such as Keita and Konate.
The jembe is the cornerstone of the national ballets of Mali and Guinea and plays an important role in the ballets of neighbouring countries. A typical ensemble includes one lead jembe, one or two accompanying jembe, and from one to three dundun. Three main strokes are used (‘slap’, ‘tone’ and ‘bass’), which combine to form a limited number of accompanying patterns. Unique dundun patterns and lead jembe phrases define dozens of dance rhythms played on occasions of circumcisions, excisions, marriages, agricultural labour, secret mask society ceremonies and recreation.
C. Joyeux: ‘Étude sur quelques manifestations musicales observées en Haute-Guinée Française’, Revue d’ethnographie, xviii (1924), 170–212
Rhythme der Malinke, perf. F. Konate and others, Museum für Völkerkunde Berlin CD 18 (1991) [incl. notes by J. Beer]
S. Blanc: Percussions africaines: le tambour djembe (Paris, 1992) [with accompanying disc]
A. Drame and A. Senn-Borloz: Jeliya, être griot et musicien aujourd’hui (Paris, 1992)
Djembefola, videotape, dir. L. Chevalier, Interama Video Arts (New York, 1994)
Mogobalu, perf. M. Keita, Fonti Musicali FMD 205 (1995)
M. Sunkett: Mandiani Drum and Dance: Djimbe Performance and Black Aesthetics from Africa to the New World (Tempe, AZ, 1995)
E. Charry: ‘A Guide to the Jembe’, Percussive Notes, xxxiv/2 (1996), 66–72
R. Polak: ‘Bewegung, Zeit und Pulsation: Theorierelevante Aspekte der Jenbemusik in Bamako’, Jb für musikalische Volks- und Völkerkunde, xvi (1997), 59–69
F. Konate and T. Ott:: Rhythm und Lieder aus Guinea (Oldershausen, 1997) [with accompanying disc]
R. Polak: : Jenbe Music in Bamako: Microtiming as Formal Model and Performance Practice, Iwalewa Forum, ii(1998), 24–36
E. Charry:: Mande Music: Traditional and Modern Music of the Maninka and Mandinka of Western Africa (Chicago, 2000)
ERIC CHARRY