Batá

Batá is a family of double-headed, hourglass-shaped drums originating in West Africa and widely used in Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian musical and religious traditions. The instrument typically features a hardwood body with two drumheads made from animal skin, tightened with cords around the shell. Batá drums are usually played in sets of two or three, each drum producing a different pitch. Players strike the heads with the hands and fingers to produce a wide range of tones, though in some modern contexts sticks may be used.

In Yoruba religious practice and its diasporic expressions, batá drums are central to ceremonial music and are used to invoke and communicate with orishas or spirits. In Cuba, batá music is closely tied to Santería (Regla de Ocha); in Brazil, similar drums appear in Candomblé and other Afro-descendant rites. The rhythms performed on batá are highly structured and carry symbolic meaning within ceremonies. Drummers may “speak” through the drums, signaling messages or stories via a patterned drum language that combines timbre, tempo, and phrasing.

Beyond ritual contexts, batá drumming has influenced secular Afro-Latin styles and fusion genres, contribute to transatlantic musical exchanges, and maintain a strong lineage through drum schools and social guilds. The instrument’s significance rests on its musical versatility and its role as a medium for spiritual communication and cultural continuity in the African diasporic world.