How it began
The origin of the bongo is not fully clear. Its use was first documented in the late 19th century in the Oriente region of eastern Cuba, where it was played in nengón, changüí and son. Oral tradition among changüí musicians holds that it began as a replacement for a pair of bokús, tall drums that were slung over the knee and later cut down. Historians generally hold that it derives from Bantu drum models from Central Africa. Some state that joining the two drums was a Cuban step, so the instrument has been called "African in concept but Cuban in invention."
How it works
The pair consists of a larger drum, the hembra, and a smaller one, the macho, joined by a wooden bridge. Both are open at the bottom. The player usually holds them between the legs and strikes them with both hands. The shells are typically made of hardwood, and the first heads were cow or mule hide tacked to the shell. Players tuned the drums with the heat of an oil or kerosene lamp, which tightened the skin.
How it spread
The smaller bongos used in son were popular across Cuba by the 1910s. Son reached Havana partly through soldiers of the permanent army who brought music from eastern Cuba. Recordings by groups such as the Sexteto Habanero in the 1920s made individual players known. The drums reached concert halls in the eastern United States in the 1930s, and by the 1940s bongos and congas shared the stage as bands grew and Latin music mixed with jazz.
Who pushed back
In 1929 the Cuban government banned bongos and other drums. Life magazine reported that the restriction carried heavy penalties. The measure extended a 1925 ban on congas in street carnivals. Poets of the Afrocubanismo movement denounced this repression of Afro-Cuban culture, and Nicolás Guillén published his "Song of the bongo" in 1931. Race barriers also kept some black players off the stage.
Where it stands today
Mechanical tuning hardware replaced tacked heads in the 1940s, which allowed higher and more consistent tuning. During the second half of the 20th century bongos came to be played in many genres, from bachata in the Dominican Republic to Latin rock. They remain a standard part of the rhythm section in son and salsa groups.
