Learn to play the Ngoma drums. Discover the Engoma drums of Uganda

A Friend of mine described the Ngoma as the king of all drums and I think that is the best way to honor the overcoming and amazing sound produced by this type of drums.

The Ngoma are commonly used in the Eastern part of Africa in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and parts of the Democratic republic of Congo. Uganda has got the over all command on the Ngom and it is thought to be the country where this type of drum actually originated.

The Ngoma is very important in the life of people in Uganda and the Baganda ( one of the major tribes in Uganda) are called children of the drum. This is because the Ngoma plays such a big part in the day to day life of the people. The Ngoma like all other African drums is used for communication and celebration but is also a symbol of authority.

The Ngoma is made of wood and then covered with mainly cow skin all around it. The drums are made to different sizes and they are played in groups of 7 and each drum has a specific function and they all speak in different voices. How ever, some times a group of 4 drums will be used to produce equally great rhythms. The major drums in this case will be Embutu, Empunyi ,Nankasa and Engalabi. Engoma is the big drum which produces a loud lead sound similar to the open sound on the Djembe. The Empunyi is another big drum which produces the base sound and the Nankasa is a small drum played using sticks and it produces a very high tone.

Then you have the Ngalabi which is a long drum with an opening at the base. It has a head covered with lizard skin and it produces a dry crisp sound similar to the slap sound on the djmbe. Together those four drum will produce fabulous resonance to push any one off their seats and dance.

All the drums mentioned above are played with hands apart from the small Nankasa which is played with sticks.

Come back to this page some time and you will find some recordings of the Ngoma.