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The bata drums and their music have survived for over 500 years, traveling from the land of the Yoruba in Nigeria to Cuba to the United States and beyond. Their story is a testament to the power and depth of the religion and culture of which they are an important part. To tell the story of the bata drums we need to talk about religion and culture because the bata are not merely a musical instrument, and what they play is not simply music in the popular Western sense.
Knowledge of the drums came from Yorubaland to Cuba in the 1800s with the slave trade. The Yorba people were one of the two major ethnic groups brought to Cuba from Africa (Bant were the other). Mainly from what is now southwestern Nigeria, 275,000 Yoruba were brought to Cuba, mostly during 1820-1860s. The Yoruba brought religious practices that evolved into the religion called Santeria or Regla de Ocha in Cuba. Around 1830, the first bata with aáa (sacred bata) were created in Cuba. By 1951, there were about 15 to 25 sets. |
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