The sabar drum is the primary percussion instrument used in the Wolof ethnic group of Senegal’s pulsating, humorous and highly passionate sabar music. Found commonly in neighborhoods surrounding the Senegalese capital of Dakar, sabar drumming and dance is ubiquitous at celebrations like weddings and naming ceremonies, hinting at the layers of complicated emotions, from the frivolous to the less fleeting, that arise during even the most joyful life-cycle events.

This fantastic, fascinating, maybe-primarily-for-adults-to-read article about sabar music from Drum Magazine calls the rhythms “puzzling.”  This page about sabar drumming from South Africa’s “Algorhythm” tells us that there are seven drums that compose a sabar ensemble and kindly lets us know the drums are made of dimba wood.