Bàtá
/bà.tá/noun
A Yoruba double-headed drum used in musical, ceremonial, and religious contexts.
Did you know?Sacred bàtá ensembles are strongly associated with Ṣàngó, the Yoruba Òrìṣà of thunder and lightning, and skilled drummers use tonal patterns that mirror spoken Yoruba.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Yoruba
bàtá
“A Yoruba sacred or ceremonial drum, especially a double-headed drum played with a hooked stick and the hand.”
18th–19th Century
Yoruba
bàtá
“A drum used in royal, religious, and community musical traditions across Yorubaland.”
19th Century
English
batá
“A transliterated Yoruba term encountered in descriptions of West African music and religion.”
20th Century
English
bata drum
“An English-language term for the Yoruba double-headed drum and its musical tradition.”
Modern English
English
batá
“A Yoruba drum type and, by extension, the ensemble and performance tradition associated with it.”