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| Cuban Batá Drum Set, Traditionally Strung (Havana-Style Lacing) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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This batá drum set was brought to me directly from Havana. The constructor of the drums is not known. These drums are hand-carved from solid pieces of wood (no stave construction) and equipped with relatively thick cowhide. The drums themselves are light in weight. Skin tension is typically provided by a lacing system of rawhide strips, which has been orthodox and common for batá drums in Nigeria and Cuba since they were invented. In Havana, this type of construction is still a prerequisite for batá drums that are going to be used in religious ceremonies de fundamento. Still, even drums that are traditionally constructed like the ones depicted here, must meet certain requirements defined by the religion and have to undergo complicated and costly rituals, before they deserve to be acknowledged as fundamento batá, incorporating, and giving home to, the spirit called Añá. However, the sound of the drums is perfect, as it reflects the sound of the ceremonial batá drums in Havana. Construction and finish are traditional, exactly authentic and identical to ceremonial drums. (Note: The fardela of the iyá would be to small for my personal taste [a.].) This type of batá drums is something for the dedicated drummer who really puts his love into a traditional drum like this, and not so much the working allround percussionist who rushes from gig to gig and wants his equipment to be quickly ready for convenient use. Unlike the congas, bongos and batá that have metal hardware installed, these drums must be tuned by first wettening and then untying the leather laces to pull them and wrap them again, while the hoop of the drumhead is repeatedly struck down with a hammer. The operation is usually done by two or three persons. Often during the performance/ritual the hammer is also used, because the natural material reacts to climatic changes, as well as to heavy playing. Once tied and dried, the skins should keep their tension for a longer period of time (under relatively stable climatic conditions); so the drums are in no way tuned down and pulled anew for each performance. Furthermore, these drums have their favourite playing positions, because on some spots, the skin exceeds the edge of the drum [c.], which may also be observed on some fundamento drums. As a result, if the respective drum is played from one particular side that it dislikes, you will be punished with painful skin injuries in your hands. So this is clearly the kind of drum that not only has its own personality, but lets you know this immediately. If you want an instrument for easy usage, this isn't exactly your drum. Of course, the more you pull and re-tune the drums, this difficulty will disappear as the rim is lowered down beneath the edge. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
 a. View of the larger heads (enú) |
 b. View of the smaller heads (chachá) |
 c. The skin exceeds the edge of the itótele chá. |
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