Atabaque

Overview

The atabaque is a tall single-headed barrel drum used in Afro-Brazilian religious ceremony and in capoeira. The Hornbostel-Sachs system files the atabaque at 211.221 — an individual single-skin barrel drum — and DBpedia confirms its development in Brazil. The drum is played upright or tilted slightly forward, with the player striking the head with bare hands or with thin wooden sticks (aguidavi) depending on the religious tradition.

The atabaque is played in a graduated set of three: the rum (large, low-pitched, lead instrument), the rumpi (middle), and the lê (smallest, highest-pitched). Each drum has a defined role in the ensemble and the three together provide the rhythmic foundation for Candomblé religious ceremonies and for the roda of capoeira.

Origin & History

The atabaque is the Brazilian descendant of West and West-Central African single-headed wooden drums brought to Brazil by enslaved Africans during the colonial period. Closely related drum traditions are documented in the present-day Yoruba area of Nigeria and Benin (the gan-gan and related single-headed drums of Yoruba ceremony), in the Fon area of Benin (the agba drums of Fon vodun), and in the wider Bantu drum traditions of the Kingdom of Kongo and Angola.

In colonial-era Brazil, particularly in Bahia where large numbers of West African enslaved people were concentrated, the surviving African religious traditions reorganised under the cover of Catholic confraternities and emerged as Candomblé — the Afro-Brazilian religion centred on the worship of orixás (West African deities). The atabaque ensemble became the fixed liturgical drum set of Candomblé ceremony, and over the 19th and 20th centuries the rum, rumpi and lê drum names and their associated rhythmic patterns crystallised into the present-day standard. DBpedia records the development of the modern atabaque in Brazil; its specific lineage runs through the Afro-Bahian religious community of Salvador and the surrounding Recôncavo region.

In capoeira — the Afro-Brazilian martial art and dance form developed by enslaved and freed Africans in 19th-century Brazil — the atabaque became one of the four core instruments of the bateria (capoeira orchestra) alongside the lead berimbau, two pandeiros and the agogô. The capoeira atabaque is typically the rum, the largest and lowest-pitched of the three, played with hands or with sticks depending on regional style.

Construction & Materials

A traditional atabaque is constructed from a series of curved wooden staves bound together by metal hoops to form a tall barrel-shaped body, with a single head — typically of cow skin, traditionally tanned and stretched — laced or tensioned over the open top end. The bottom end of the barrel is left open, allowing the drum’s bass tone to project downward and outward.

The three drums are graduated in size: the rum is approximately 90 to 110 centimetres tall and 30 centimetres in diameter at the head; the rumpi is around 75 to 85 centimetres; and the lê is around 60 to 70 centimetres. Modern construction increasingly uses a one-piece moulded wooden or composite body and a synthetic head, particularly for capoeira and concert use; traditional Candomblé drums retain the staved wooden body and natural-skin head and are consecrated to specific orixás through a ceremony of dedication.

How It’s Played

In Candomblé the rum is played by the lead drummer (the alabê) using bare hands or with two thin wooden sticks called aguidavi; the rumpi and lê are played by supporting drummers using a single hand and a single stick or by hands alone, depending on the nação (lineage) of the ceremony. The Ketu nação uses sticks on rum and rumpi; the Angola and Congo nações use hands more often. Each rhythmic pattern (toque) is associated with a specific orixá and is played to invoke that deity.

In capoeira the atabaque is played with hands — sticks are not used in the roda — and provides a steady rhythmic foundation under the lead berimbau and the pandeiros. The basic capoeira pattern provides a syncopated 4/4 pulse that supports the toque de Angola, the toque de São Bento Pequeno and the other characteristic capoeira rhythmic frameworks.

Cultural Significance

The atabaque is one of the central sacred instruments of Brazilian religious heritage. In Candomblé it is consecrated to specific orixás and is treated with the same ritual respect as the batá drums of Cuban Santería: a consecrated atabaque must be cared for, fed and ritually maintained by the lead drummer, and is generally not played for non-religious purposes. Each terreiro (Candomblé religious house) maintains its own consecrated atabaque set, and the lineage of consecration is traced back to the original 19th-century Bahian terreiros — Casa Branca, Gantois and Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá — that established the modern Candomblé.

In capoeira the atabaque has a less restricted ritual role but is no less central. The instrument is the rhythmic anchor of the roda and one of the four required instruments of the bateria; capoeira mestres take particular care over their atabaques, and the instrument is widely used as a teaching object in capoeira schools worldwide.

The atabaque has had a wider cultural footprint in 20th-century Brazilian popular music. Composers including Dorival Caymmi, Vinícius de Moraes and the afoxé groups of Salvador have built popular songs around the rhythmic conceptions of the rum-rumpi-lê ensemble.

Notable Examples & Recordings

• Mestre Bimba and the Filhos de Bimba capoeira school recordings, with capoeira-style atabaque playing.
• Olodum and Filhos de Gandhy, afoxé and bloco-afro groups of Salvador using atabaque in popular music settings.
• Margareth Menezes, recordings featuring atabaque in modern Bahian popular music.
• Casa Branca terreiro recordings in the Smithsonian Folkways and Lyrichord catalogues — examples of consecrated Candomblé atabaque playing.
• Naná Vasconcelos and Airto Moreira, Brazilian percussion virtuosi who have brought atabaque-derived patterns into international jazz and chamber settings.

Related Instruments

• Batá drum – the Cuban Santería sacred drum set, the closest functional parallel.
• Berimbau – the Brazilian musical bow, the lead instrument of the capoeira bateria.
• Pandeiro – the Brazilian frame drum that pairs with the atabaque in the capoeira orchestra.
• Agogô – the iron double-bell of West African and Afro-Brazilian percussion.
• Conga – the Cuban single-headed barrel drum from the same broad African lineage.

Where to Hear It

Live atabaque playing is heard at Candomblé ceremonies in Salvador, Recife and Rio de Janeiro — these are religious events generally open to respectful visitors with prior introduction — and at capoeira rodas worldwide. The Capoeira Festival of Salvador, the Festival Internacional de Capoeira in Rio, and Bahian carnival appearances of afoxé and bloco-afro groups are major performance occasions. Recordings appear on Smithsonian Folkways, the Lyrichord Brazilian collection, the Biscoito Fino label, and on the recordings of major capoeira schools.

• Wikipedia: Atabaque
• Wikidata: Atabaque (Q614158)
• DBpedia: Atabaque
• Wikimedia Commons: Atabaque

Learning Resources

In Salvador the Fundação Pierre Verger, the Casa Branca terreiro and the major capoeira schools (Filhos de Bimba, Mestre Pastinha’s lineage, Grupo Senzala, Cordão de Ouro and others) provide training. International capoeira and Brazilian percussion teachers in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, New York, London, Berlin and Tokyo offer atabaque instruction. Method materials in Portuguese include Pierre Verger’s photographic and ethnographic works on Candomblé; English-language method materials include Bira Almeida’s Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form and the writings of Dr. C. Daniel Dawson at the Schomburg Center. A handcrafted atabaque from a Brazilian maker runs from 200 to 800 USD depending on size and material.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the atabaque?
A tall single-headed barrel drum used in Brazilian Candomblé religious ceremony and in capoeira. It is played in a set of three (rum, rumpi, lê) graduated by size and pitch.

Where did the atabaque come from?
From the West and West-Central African single-headed drum traditions brought to Brazil by enslaved Africans during the colonial period. The modern Brazilian form developed in 19th-century Bahia, particularly in Candomblé religious settings.

Are sacred and capoeira atabaques the same?
Construction is similar but the social role is different. Candomblé atabaques are consecrated to specific orixás and treated as sacred objects; capoeira atabaques are unconsecrated and can be played by anyone in any context. Many capoeira drums are played with hands while many Candomblé drums are played with sticks.

What kind of music is the atabaque used for?
Candomblé religious ceremony; capoeira rodas; afoxé and bloco-afro carnival music in Bahia; modern Brazilian popular music drawing on these traditions.

Are there famous atabaque players?
The named virtuosi of Brazilian percussion — including Naná Vasconcelos, Airto Moreira and Marcos Suzano — have all worked with atabaques in concert and recording settings. In Candomblé the lead drummer (alabê) of a major terreiro is a senior religious figure rather than a public concert performer, and is identified within the religious community rather than on the international circuit.