The djembe is the goblet-shaped West African drum traditionally played with bare hands.
The instrument has a carved wooden body, a skin drumhead, and a narrow waist that helps project its sound. Players produce bass, tone, and slap sounds by striking different areas of the head with their hands.
Djembes are strongly associated with the Mandé cultural regions of West Africa, including parts of Guinea, Mali, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire. Traditionally, specialist hereditary musicians known as griots helped preserve and perform regional musical traditions.
A djembe is often confused with a conga because both are hand drums, but the conga developed in Cuba and generally has a taller, more barrel-like body. A darbuka is another hand drum, but it has a distinct metal or ceramic goblet form and is associated especially with North African and Middle Eastern music.