This musical instrument has been brought to us by Kèncho. “When fishermen stayed on the seashore at night, they would prepare their fishing equipment for the next day and make music. They invented this musical instrument by taking bamboo poles that washed ashore. They made the bamba that served as a sort of drum.”

“If you put the poles in an upright position and hit the ground it sounds bam-ba, that’s how the instrument got its name. When cutting the bamboo poles make sure to cut one shorter than the other. When the fishermen continued to develop their music, they took the bambas home and it was part of the seú musical tradition for some time. Then it disappeared because according to the people the bamba didn´t produce enough sound.”

“They also used the bamba in Bonaire and Aruba. They used it as a musical instrument alongside granite plates and desu (a pickaxe that lost its pick). I found these bamboo poles when I was doing research on ancient musical instruments at Sint Joris Bay where a lot of bamboo poles wash ashore. I made my own bamba with it in 2007. I still use it to play music and for exhibitions.”