Hourglass-shaped drum; gumboye

Gumboye, variable tension double-membrane hourglass-shaped drum. The shell is carved with an adze from the wood of a kiré tree (Prosopis africana). It is then left in the sun to dry. The sheepskin membranes, are usually stretched by a leather worker (djon). The membranes are braced by hide lacing that is looped over leather-covered hoops beneath the rims. The lacing passes between both heads and hoops and is arranged in a parallel formation, allowing the membranes to be tensioned simultaneously through lateral compression. The beater (2000.36.2) is a carved stick bent at 90 degrees.