Rhythm of a Nation: Feel the Beats of Sierra Leone’s Dance

Discover the instruments that shaped Sierra Leonean music. Explore their origins, uses, and cultural impact. A journey through the nation's sounds.

This is a bowl-shaped, laced drum popular with the people of Northern Sierra Leone. It is usually a carved wood strewn with goatskin and leather. The Tabule, beaten by two people, is commonly used in the rural areas at town halls, meetings and mosques for call to prayers.

A percussion instrument made of calabash, hanging string nets with small pieces of shells. A rattling sound is produced by a grip on the neck of the calabash with the other hand pulling the net. It is used by women of the female Sande society and common among the Temne and Mende.

It is a locally made xylophone with a series of wooden tone bars. Having a wooden frame with keys attached to it, Balangi is played with two beaters (sticks). It is popular with the Kuranko, Temne and Limba, major ethnic groups in northern Sierra Leone.

A cylindrical wooden drum with a membrane made of animal skin, the Hutamba or Dudu drum can be found across the country. Cherished for its bass and loud sound, it is played by one person with rope as handles.

A metal box having a wooden frame with a number of metal tongues fixed on top of it. An extension with threaded metal wires is added to the box.  A treasured national instrument, the Kondi has inspired many songs and musicians of contemporary Sierra Leonean music.

Kelei is a well-known percussion instrument among the Mende and Limba. It is a slit-log drum made of a hollow log or a piece of bamboo played with two beaters. It produces a pitch or tone variety when continuously hit in the middle and nearer ends of either side of the slit.

This is a cone-shaped wooden drum with one drumskin at the wider end while being open at the other end. Laced and fitted with rattling extensions, it is played only by men and with hands and not sticks. The Sangbay drum takes many forms and is from throughout Sierra Leone.

Used by men to accompany story-telling and produce songs in honor of members of the royalty and patrons, Kora is a long-necked harp lute. It is composed of a long wooden neck thrust through a gourd covered by a leather-made sound box.

The hordu is a popular musical instrument among the Fula people. It has a unique boat-shaped body covered in animal skin, and is played by plucking strings and knocking the body. It is often used at important ceremonies like weddings and festivals.

Having its origins from the Temne, it is made of wood and palm fibre. The bed scarer is a small xylophone-like instrument which sound is used to scare birds away from rice fields or farm.

One of the rare string instruments common among the Yalunka people of northern Sierra Leone, Kondene is made from a bow attached to a sound box covered with an animal skin. It is used dominantly used by hunters to produce hunting music.

Kenken is treasured by secret society men accompanying a masquerade. It is a bell-shaped metal percussion instrument with a metal handle.

Shaped like a bowl, the bote has a wooden circular base covered with hide stretched atop, and two handles. It is used to call people to meetings and prayers.

Local musical instruments in Sierra Leone have stood the test of time and their unique sounds are re-modelled by music producers into songs that resonate with present times.