Tambor (dance)

Tambor is a coastal Afro-Venezuelan music and dance. It is a cultural manifestation originating in the slaves from Africa. The drums are of Kongo origin, as are most musical genres of Afro-Venezuelan origin. The Tambores are done with the playing of a cumaco which is a long cylinder-shaped drum played on the ground while the player (known as a cumaquero) sits on it and plays. It also consists of drums known as campanas which are played by sitting down in a chair and playing them with the hands. These drums are often used for religious ceremonies. In the Afro-Catholic community, it is used to honour and invoke San Juan or some other Saint. In the Maria Lionza context, the drums are used to invoke the spirits to possess the materia or medium as well as to animate the spirit and give it force.

The main public ritual of the African diasporic religion, Santería, the toque de santo drumming ceremony, is also known as tambor.

Groups

• Tambor Urbano
• Un Solo Pueblo
• Grupo Madera

References

• Fernández Olmos, Margarite; Paravisini-Gebert, Lizabeth (2011). Creole Religions of the Caribbean: An Introduction from Vodou and Santería to Obeah and Espiritismo (second ed.). New York and London: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0814762288.
• Hagedorn, Katherine J. (2001). Divine Utterances: The Performance of Afro-Cuban Santería. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. ISBN 978-1560989479.