Home >> Hobbies >> Other Hobbies

How to Lace a Djembe

Djembe African drums are typically carved from a tree as one piece and hollowed out to form a goblet-shaped instrument, with a drum head made from the skins of goat, antelope, zebra, deer or calf. The drums are very old, dating back to the 13th century. One ring with small loops around it is placed on the head and another just below the midsection. The drum shape is wider at the top than the bottom, and rope is laced in vertical positions between the two rings to pull the drum head tight.

Things You'll Need

Lacing rope
Garden gloves
Utility knife

Instructions

- 1
  Turn the djembe upside-down, placing the drum's head on a solid surface to maintain balance.
- 2
  Form a small loop in the end of the lacing rope and tie a knot in it to maintain the loop shape. Position it about halfway between the head ring and the djembe's bottom ring. (The bottom ring, of course, is now higher on the drum because you have turned the drum upside-down.)
- 3
  Feed the unknotted end through one of the loops in the bottom ring and then down through a loop in the head ring directly opposite it. Continue to vertically feed the lacing rope first through a loop in one ring and then through a loop in the other ring, working your way around the drum using consecutive ring loops. Leave the verticals loose as you string them.
- 4
  Check that the two rings are level and parallel to the floor. Straighten them if necessary.
- 5
  Start pulling on the vertical ropes to take up the slack, beginning with the first vertical in the drum ring by your initial knot. Do not pull too hard. Work your way around the drum, pulling up on the rope through the top rings and down on the rope as it comes from the bottom rings. Be sure to pull in the right direction (the drum is upside-down). The bottom ring will begin to tighten around the drum as it moves up the widening drum body. Watch that the rings remain level as you increase tension. If your rope is not long enough to go all the way around the drum, you can tie two pieces together to make one contiguous rope.
- 6
  Put on a pair of garden gloves and, starting again from the starting knot in the head ring, pull tightly as you move from top to bottom and around the drum.
- 7
  Tie the loose end of the rope to one of the vertical ropes when you have gone completely around the drum. Remove the extra rope with a utility knife.

Other Hobbies