Tama (musical instrument)
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- For other uses, see Tama.
A tama (the "talking drum") is a West African drum whose pitch can be regulated to the extent that it is said the drum "talks". The player puts the tama under one shoulder and beats the tama with a stick. Tama player raises the pitch by tightening the strings and can produce highly informative sounds to convey complicated messages. The ability to change the drum's pitch is analogous to the language tonality of some African languages.
The tama is used in playing Mbalax music of Senegal and in Fuji music of Nigeria (where it known as a Dundun, not to be confused with the Dundun bass drum used in Djembe ensemble of the Mandé peoples.)
Tama drums are possibly one the oldest instruments used by West African griots and their history can be traced back to ancient Ghana Empire.
The tama is also known by a variety of names within West Africa:
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