Dununba, Sangban, Kenkini (and Stands)

Those first three words in the title name the members of the Dunun family, cylindrical West-African drums that you usually put on a stand to play. Think of those sizes as Papa bear, Mama bear, and Baby bear; the names are a bit onomatopoeic. I bought a set and, separately, stands to put them on. They’re pretty enough that I want to post their pictures, which gives me an excuse to share West-African drumming vibes. Motivation I’ve been studying West-African (and a bit of Afro-Cuban) drumming for decades. This kind of music relies on dununs, djembés, and bells. Djembés are played with bare hands, dununs with sticks. In class, we play the dununs in traditional style, one drum per person, one hand playing the drum sideways on a stand, the other tapping a bell strapped to its top. Dunun on a stand (but no bell attached). I’m reasonably proficient on the djembé but nobody would call me a star; I can keep to the beat at a reasonably fast pace and even improvise a bit. On the single sideways…