Anya Drums – The Sacred Drums of Cuba

 

The bata drum originated in Nigeria and later traveled to Cuba and the U.S. The bata drum is used in Yoruba ceremonial music. The rhythms are directed to the Orishas, who are deities of the Yoruba religion. Each of the drummers traditionally belonged to the sacred order of Anya. The bata ensemble has three drums, each with two heads: Okonkolo ("the child") the smallest drum which keeps the pulse; Itotelle ("the father") carries melody and answers the calls; lya ("the mother") plays the calls and solos and is the largest drum.They are made up of three hourglass-shaped drums of different sizes that perform specific musical functions. 

 

The characteristic polyrhythms executed on the batá drums have substantially enriched Cuban music; therefore, many elements of these same polyrhythms have been put into use in many of the very diverse styles of this music. Lastly, they have also been adopted by other musical instruments in the Cuban culture.

 

The batá drums possess a secret or añá; they are objects of special cults and should be played only by men, referred to as Olú-batá, who are especially initiated for this function.