Bougarabou Essentials

Bougarabou is a percussion instrument that comes from the villages of Casamance, a region in southern Senegal, south of the Gambia.

The Bougarabou is considered a deeply sacred instrument with origins rooted in ritual ceremonies, such as the moment when a child is ushered into the world of adults. Its most revered sounds can only be played by those initiated into its secrets.

This ancient style of drum is constructed using a single cow skin head affixed by a web of ropes to an elongated wooden frame, producing a rich, earthy tone that can be heard across great distances. They’re typically played by a single drummer as a set of three or four drums ranging in size and tone, accompanied here by clapping and additional percussion.

Producer Papé Armand Boyé recruited players trained in this venerated tradition, including one whose family has been considered “a family of Bougarabou since the dawn of time.” There are many specific dances that are only performed when the codified rhythms of these drums are played.

This pack includes stacked combinations of Bougarabou drums, claps, and percussion, as well as individual loops and one-shots for you to weave these ancient sounds and rhythms into your own music.

Size  475.07 MB