List of Caribbean idiophones

This is a list of idiophones used in the Caribbean music area, including the islands of the Caribbean Sea, as well as the musics of Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Belize, and Bermuda, and in Garifuna music.

Instrument	Tradition	Complete classification	Description
abwe	See chekeré	-
agogó	See agogoró'	-
agogoró'[1] agogó	Cuba	111.221	Hoe blade, struck with a nail or other heavy object
akanikã[1]	Cuba	111.242.222	Belt with many attached bells
asson[2][3] baksor, asson can also refer to the ogan in Northern Haiti	Haiti	1	Hollow calabash with a hole, which the player plugs during performance, where the stem used to be, covered in beaded webbing
assot[3]	Haiti	1	Wooden board, sometimes attached to a tymbale
arwé-koesolé	See bakosó'	-
assongwé [1]	Cuba	112.13	Rattle made of tin, with both ends conical and an attached handle, used by Arará priests
atcheré[1] güiro	Cuba	112.12	Oblong rattle made from a gourd, and covered with a network of webbing laced with nuts or beads
bakosó[1] arwé-koesolé	Cuba	112.12	Large rattle made from a calabash, and covered with a network of webbing laced with nuts or beads
baksor	See asson	-
banká[1] ekón, ekóng	Cuba	111.242.121	Metal bell, struck with a wooden stick, location of the strike determines pitch
base-bum	See steelpan	-
base-kettle	See steelpan	-
bell[4]	Trinidad and Tobago	1	Hand bell, used in the Spiritual Baptist musical tradition
bell, Lucumí[1]	Cuba	111.242.121	Bell with an external striker
belly	See steelpan	-
bench[4]	Trinidad and Tobago	1	Ordinary sitting bench, used spontaneously by banging against the ground in the Spiritual Baptist musical tradition
bois bourrique	See vaccine	-
boli[2] chac-chac, shack-shack, xaque-xaque (Brazil), chacha (Cuba)	Trinidad and Tobago	1	Hollow calabash with a hole, which the player plugs during performance, where the stem used to be, covered in beaded webbing, used in the Shango cult
cajon [1]	Cuba and Puerto Rico	111.2	Wooden box played as a bass drum, with hands held in front of the face, often while sitting on the instrument while playing
cata[3]	Haiti	1	Two types of beating tubes: a length of bamboo laid upon two y-shaped sticks in the ground, and a hollow wooden cylinder; both are beaten with sticks
catá[5]	Cuba	1	Hollowed out trunk hit with two sticks, used in yuka, term also used for a rumba rhythm
cencerro[1] gangária, San Martin (for secular uses only)	Cuba	?	Large cowbell with no clapper, struck on the outside, used in many kinds of Cuban folk and popular music
chac-chac	See shak-shak	-
chacha	See shak-shak	-
chekeré[2] abwe	Cuba	1	Hollow calabash with a hole, which the player plugs during performance, where the stem used to be, covered in beaded webbing
claves[1][3][6]	Cuba and Haiti	111.1	Cylindrical percussive sticks of African origin, made from hardwood trees like acana, quiebrahacha, guayaca¡n, and granadillo
dentlé	See dentli	-
dentli[3] dentlé	Haiti	112.211	Notched stick played with a bamboo scraping blade
dhantal[7]	Indo-Caribbean Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname	1	Steel rod, adapted from a piece of a yoke and hit with a beater in a horseshoe-shape, used in chutney
door [1]	Cuba	111.221	Normal door, beaten with a hand, integral component of the yambú dance
double-conical rattle[1]	Cuba	112.13	Double-conical rattle, made of tin and held horizontally, known in Jovellanos
ekón	See banká	-
ekóng	See banká	-
ericúnde	See erikúnde	-
erikúnde[1] ericúnde	Cuba	112.13	Tubular rattle with a looping basket-shaped handle, filled with chunks of wood
gangária	See cencerro	-
geared rattle[3] kwa-kwa	Haiti	1	Rattle, used in Rara ceremonies
grage[3]	Haiti	112.23	Metal scraper with small, closely spaced holes, played with a piece of wire or nail
grind organ [1]	Cuba	1	Integral component of the yambú dance
güira [8]	Dominican Republic	1	Sheet of metal shaped into a tube, used in bachata and merengue
güira	See güiro	-
Güiro[1] guayo	Cuba	NA	Generic term for any instrument made from a gourd, especially a scraper
güiro[1]	Cuba	112.12	Oblong rattle made from pieces of tin, and covered with a network of webbing laced with nuts or beads, known in Matanzas Province
guayo [6]	Puerto Rico	1	Used in bomba and plena
erimé[1]	Cuba	112.13	Set of four rattles attached to a pair of crossed sticks
iron[9]	Surinamese Maroons	111.1	Pieces of any available metal struck together
iron tube, Lucumí[1]	Cuba	111.242.121	Hollow iron tube with a slit along the side, played with an external striker
guataca	Cuba	?	cowbell, played using a striker
jhanj	Trinidad and Tobago	?	Pair of large cymbals
kwa-kwa[3] tcha-tcha, tcha-kwa	Haiti	112.13	Empty gourd filled with seeds; can also refer to the geared rattle
kwakwa[9]	Surinamese Maroons	1	Bench with a wooden top, played with two sticks, from a squatting position
malimba	See marimba	-
manimba	See marimba	-
manimbula	See marimba	-
maraca [1][2] shakkas (Garifuna) maruga (Matanzas Province only)	Cuba, Garifuna music, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and elsewhere	112.13	Rattle found in Jamaica and across the Greater Antilles and Central America, made from a hollow gourd, often a calabash, and filled with dried seeds
marimba	See marimbula	-
marimba[3] malimba, manimba, manimbula	Haiti	111.2	Box mounted with strips that can be plucked
marimbula[1][6][8] marimba (Dominican Republic only)	Cuba, introduced to the Dominican Republic and elsewhere	111.2	Box mounted with metal strips that can be plucked, used as a bass instrument in rural folk genres like son
maruga	See maraca	-
mayohavau[10] mayahuacan	Puerto Rico	111.231	Slit drum made of thin wood, shaped like an elongated gourd, originally of Taíno origin
mayahuacan	See mayohavau	-
oga	See ogan (Cuba)	-
ogan[1]	Cuba	111.242.121	Iron bell, held upside down and struck with a beater, used among the Arará
ogan, double[1]	Cuba	111.242.221	Pair of ogan, used in mourning music among the Arará
ogan[3] asson	Haiti	111.1	Pieces of chain or other metal struck together
quijara de burro[1]	Cuba	112.122	Jawbone of a burro, teeth acting as rattles
quinto[1]	Cuba	111.2	Box with two sloping sides, tapped with the fingers percussively
rattle[9]	Surinamese Maroons	112.13	Rattle used in both secular and religious purposes, with a specific rhythm for the spirit associated with each ritual
rattle-bracelet [1]	Cuba	112.112	Bracelets with attached nuts and seeds, worn by drummers in the Kimbisa tradition
rumba box[11]	Jamaica	2	Maroon instrument used to accompany social dancing, wooden box with three metal brackets on one side
San Martin	See cencerro	-
shack-shack	See shak-shak	-
shak-shak[2] chac-chac, shack-shack, xaque-xaque (Brazil), chacha (Cuba)	Lesser Antilles	1	Rattle, made from a dried gourd, often a calabash, and filled with dried seeds, with a handle attached where the calabash stem had been, not normally decorated or painted, may be placed in a pair
shak-shak[2]	Saint Lucia and other Francophone islands	1	Rattle, made from a pair of tin cans, emptied, then filled with a few loose pebbles and soldered shut
shak-shak[2]	Lesser Antilles	112.13	Improvised rattle, made from a single tin can and a few loose pebbles, often played by children practicing for the use of the more common shak-shak or adults at impromptu occasions
shekere	See chekeré	-
shepherd's crook[4]	Trinidad and Tobago	1	Staff, used spontaneously by banging against the ground in the Spiritual Baptist musical tradition
spoons [1]	Cuba	111.141	Pair of normal spoons beaten together, integral component of the yambú dance
steeldrum	See steelpan	-
steelpan[12] steeldrum, tock-tock, belly, base kettle, base bum	Trindad and Tobago originally, now widespread	111.2	Made from tempered metal drums, tuned chromatically; not a true drum in that it is an idiophone, not a membranophone
tamboo-bamboo[13]	Trinidad and Tobago	1	Tuned bamboo stomping tubes, used as a substitute percussion instrument when drums were outlawed
tcha-kwa	See kwa-kwa	-
tcha-tcha	See kwa-kwa	-
tibwa[14][15] ti bois	Saint Lucia and Martinique	2	Wooden sticks, played against the rim of a ka, or against a bamboo tube or a log sitting on a stand
tock-tock	See steelpan	-
vaccine[3] bois bourrique	Haiti	111.2	Bamboo trumpet, played as an idiophone by tapping it with sticks
wacharaca[16] matrimonial	Curaçao	1	Metal disks attached to a wooden board

References

• Manuel, Peter (1988). Popular Musics of the Non-Western World: An Introductory Survey. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-506334-1.

Notes

1. Courlander, Harold (April 1942). "Musical Instruments of Cuba". The Musical Quarterly 28 (2): 227–240. doi:10.1093/mq/XXVIII.2.227.
2. Crowley, Daniel J. (September 1958). "The Shak-Shak in the Lesser Antilles". Ethnomusicology (Ethnomusicology, Vol. 2, No. 3) 2 (3): 112–115. doi:10.2307/924654. JSTOR 924654.
3. Courlander, Harold (July 1941). "Musical Instruments of Haiti". The Musical Quarterly 27 (3): 371–383. doi:10.1093/mq/XXVII.3.371.
4. Glazier, Stephen D. (Spring–Summer 1997). "Embedded Truths: Creativity and Context in Spiritual Baptist Music". Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana (Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, Vol. 18, No. 1) 18 (1): 44–56. doi:10.2307/780325. JSTOR 780325.
5. Hill, Donald R. (Spring–Autumn 1998). "West African and Haitian Influences on the Ritual and Popular Music of Carriacou, Trinidad, and Cuba". Black Music Research Journal (Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1/2) 18 (1/2): 183–201. doi:10.2307/779398. JSTOR 779398.
6. Manuel, pg. 30
7. Ramnarine, Tina K. (1998). ""Brotherhood of the Boat": Musical Dialogues in a Caribbean Context". British Journal of Ethnomusicology 7: 1–22. doi:10.1080/09681229808567270. JSTOR 3060707.
8. Manuel, pg. 43
9. Goines, Leonard (Spring 1975). "The Black Perspective in Music" 3 (1): 40–44.
10. "Puerto Rican Instruments". Puerto Rico Guide. Archived from the original on January 4, 2007. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
11. DjeDje, Jacqueline Cogdell (Spring–Autumn 1998). "Remembering Kojo: History, Music, and Gender in the January Sixth Celebration of the Jamaican Accompong Maroons". Black Music Research Journal (Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1/2) 18 (1/2): 67–120. doi:10.2307/779395. JSTOR 779395.
12. McDaniel, Lorna (1999). "Trinidad and Tobago". Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume Two: South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Routledge. pp. 952–967. ISBN 0-8153-1865-0.
13. Brown, Ernest D. (1990). "Carnival, Calypso, and Steelband in Trinidad". The Black Perspective in Music (The Black Perspective in Music, Vol. 18, No. 1/2) 18 (1/2): 81–100. doi:10.2307/1214859. JSTOR 1214859.
14. Guilbault, Jocelyne. "Saint Lucia". Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume Two: South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
15. Desroches, Monique (1981). Les pratiques musicales, image de l'histoire, reflet d'un contexte (PDF). Centre de recherches Caraïbes, Université de Montréal. p. 9. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
16. Bilby, Kenneth. "Netherlands Antilles and Aruba". New Grove Encyclopedia of Music.