What the heck did I buy? Native drum content?

[mirrorimij]

I found this at a local second hand shop.  Heavy.  Heavily carved. Animal skin drum skin. Any idea what this is?  Cheap souvenir?  It was listed as a “Native Drum”.  Seems well made.  Any idea where it was made and when?

Edited April 26 by mirrorimij

[mirrorimij]

[mirrorimij]

[DaveH]

Reminds me of some Haitian made stuff I've seen.

[RobB]

A hand-carved end table?

[Dave Scepter]

Just don't take the gold waist chain off and you should be fine 😳

[tomteriffic]

My wife has something similar, but less ornate. From the size, I'd call it a djembe. Hers was made from a hollowed out west African mahogany log, so maybe that's a clue to it's origin.  The guys at the store said some guys with African accents rolled up with a pickup truck full of them in various sizes and they bought a few.  Hers rattled the store windows from a good 50 feet away (you couldn't really how low it went until you got some distance away).  Tuning is by temperature and humidity 😅.

[ZR]

According to Scooby-Doo or Gilligan's Island it should unleash evil spirits upon you and yours. But, not to worry, it's all usually resolved in 20 minutes. Well, as long as you throw it into a handy nearby volcano! 🌋😜 

[velorush]

[Steve Haynie]

I remember seeing similar drums in furniture stores in the 1970's and 1980's.  Assuming that drum was made on the African continent, you need to narrow down which countries exported such drums. 

Then you might find someone from an African country who might be familiar with the style of carving.  I have known people from Cameroon, Kenya, and Nigeria.  Those countries are geographically far apart from each other.  

If you choose to play it keep in mind what drummers did back in the days before plastic drum heads came along.  Kick drums would sometimes have an electric light bulb inside to build up some heat and dry out the heads.  A blow dryer might work faster.  Like @tomteriffic said above, controlling humidity is a method of tuning.  

[alantig]

 

[topekatj]

Zee skeen, does she schteenk? 

[mirrorimij]

Thank you all!  😂

it looks close to this……..https://www.bidsquare.com/online-auctions/austin/large-african-carved-figural-karyenda-drum-7154806

Edited April 28 by mirrorimij

[beezerboy]

my guess would be african. since it does not show any wear or heavy use that suggests made for the tourist trade.   

 

or it could be a chinese knock off   

[Spinaltap]

now you need to find a drum circle, and dazzle them with your beats...

[cmatthes]

On 4/26/2026 at 4:57 PM, Dave Scepter said:

Just don't take the gold waist chain off and you should be fine 😳

You totally read my mind!!