Bongo

Playful proper noun

Bongos are a pair of small drums joined together and played with the hands, one slightly larger than the other.

They originated in Cuba and are central to Latin music, though they appear in jazz and pop as well.

The player typically holds them between the knees: He tapped out a rhythm on the bongos.

Separately, a bongo is a large African forest antelope with vertical white stripes.

drum

conga

Cuban hand drum

percussionSound through impact
Afro-CubanBlending African and Cuban
drumheadTaut membrane over cylinder

rhythm · hand drum · salsa · mambo · Latin jazz · skin · resonance · slap · tone · maracas

antelope

African

Of that southern continent

forestTree-dense ecosystem
stripedHaving contrasting bands
spiral-hornedWith coiled headgear

Congo · lowland · nocturnal · hooves · reddish-brown · endangered · shy · elusive · rainforest · Kenya

cultural

beatnik

Fifties counterculture member

coffeehouseEstablishment serving brewed beverages
poetryMetrical literary composition
1950sDecade after WWII

bohemian · Greenwich Village · jazz club · counterculture · beret · goatee · hipster · improvisation · spoken word · snap

Categories

Ubangian PeoplesSara, Kara, Linda, Ali
African LanguagesSwahili, Zulu, Yoruba, Xhosa, Amharic
MazdaMazda3, Mazda6, RX-7, Navajo, Roadster
GhanaAccra, Ashanti, Gold Coast, Western, Central
Chadian peoplesSara, Kim
Pygmy Peoples

Opposites

musical instrument type

Bongogrand piano

Large horizontal keyboard instrument

pipe organ · symphony orchestra · violin · harp · classical guitar

percussion playing style

Large mallet-struck cylinder

timpani · snare drum · marching drum · gong · xylophone

antelope characteristics (for bongo the animal)

Leaping African antelope

gazelle · wildebeest · springbok · oryx · plains zebra

Phrases

bongo drumsPaired handheld percussion instruments

Family

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Positive · Everyday, not technical · Rated G