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Bongos originated in eastern Cuba at the end of the 19th century, possibly from a pair of larger drums such as the bok. These older, larger bongos are known as bong del monte and played in chang. The smaller bongos used in son cubano were popular across Cuba by the 1910s and reached the concert halls of the eastern United States in the 1930s. By the 1940s, bongos and congas were sharing the stage as son ensembles grew in size and Latin music began to cross-pollinate with jazz and other genres. During the second half of the 20th century, bongos began to be played in a wide variety of genres, from bachata to Latin rock.[3]

Bongo drums are about 20 centimetres (8 in) high and have diameters of approximately 20 centimetres (8 in) and 25 centimetres (10 in).[4][5][6] The shells of the drums and the bridge (the small block that joins them) are usually made of wood, although fiberglass is also common. The heads are typically made of calfskin and attached to the shells via steel hardware that enables their tuning (lug tuning). Originally, metal tacks were used, so the skins had to be tightened by heating the skins with a flame and loosened with water or by striking them vigorously.[4][7] This method of tuning is still used for the traditional bongos used in chang. Therefore, Fernando Ortiz places the original bong in the category of tambores de candela (flame-tuned drums), along with bok, yuka, conga, bemb and smaller drums, since these were all tuned with the flame of an oil lamp.[8]

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When playing son cubano and other popular genres, the macho is on the left and the hembra on the right. In chang, the bong de monte is positioned the opposite way.[7] Playing patterns are also different in chang, where the bong does not follow a steady beat. Instead, it usually marks offbeats and beat four while improvising.[7] Thus, the playing technique in chang resembles that of the congas (moreover, their pitch is often lower than both bongos and congas).[7] This reflects it origin, since the bong del monte evolved from pairs of boks, a larger drum from eastern Cuba similar to the conga.[7]

Bongos can also be played on a stand, as is the case with concert orchestras and bands. In classical music performances, bongos are usually struck with mallets or drumsticks. Examples of pieces featuring bongos include Ionisation by Varse (1931), Le Marteau sans matre by Boulez (1955) and In seinem Garten liebt Don Perlimplin Belisa by Fortner (1962).[10] Steve Reich's 1971 piece Drumming features four pairs of carefully tuned bongos played with drumsticks.[11]

The origin of the bongo is largely unclear. Its use was first documented in the eastern region of Cuba, the Oriente Province, during the late 19th century, where it was employed in music styles such as nengn, chang, and their descendant, the son cubano.[3] According to Fernando Ortiz, the word bong derived from the Bantu words mgombo or ngoma, meaning drum.[12] He hypothesizes that the word evolved through metathesis and by similarity with another Bantu word, mbongo.[12] According to Ortiz's early 20th century informants, the large bong del monte (mountain bongo) used in chang was the ancestor of the smaller bong used in son cubano and salsa.[7]

As explained by eastern Cuban informants to Benjamin Lapidus, the oral tradition among chang musicians in Oriente is that the bong originated as a replacement for pairs of boks that were slung over the player's knee.[7] Boks are tall drums popular in the eastern provinces, particularly during carnival processions, and featured in early chang groups. Eventually, these drums were cut in half into bongos. This may explain why the bong del monte used in chang is larger than the bongos used in son. In Holgun, similar drums which are considered possible ancestors of the bong are known as tahona, which might have a been a generic word for drum in Cuba and also refers to an unrelated music genre.[13] Other generic terms that have been used to refer to bongos across eastern Cuba include tahonitas, tambora, atambora and tumba.[14]

The bok/tahona origin of the bongos agrees with the generally agreed notion held by Afro-Cuban cultural historians that the bongo derives from Bantu drum models from Central Africa, noticeable in the open bottoms. The strong historical presence of Africans from the Congo/Angola region in eastern Cuba (where the bongo first appeared) makes such an influence possible, as does the widespread use of the term bong/bonk among Bantu speakers.[7] Moreover, Central African/Congo influences are also documented in both son cubano and chang, and initially the development of the bongo drum was in parallel with these genres. From such conceptual African drum models, the bongo developed further in Cuba itself, and some historians state that the attaching of the two drums was a later invention that took place in Cuba. Therefore, the instrument has been described as "African in concept but Cuban in invention".[15] Ortiz's hypothesis for the origin of the bok is that their tall unusual shape was the result of a purposeful avoidance of "African-looking" drums by Afro-Cuban musicians at a time when most drums of that sort were banned.[16]

Less supported hypotheses for the origin of the bongos, largely based on their superficial similarity to other twin drums, include the Cuban pailas and timbales (descended from European tympani), the Arab nakers, the North African tbilat (called "African clay bongos"),[17] the Indian tabla, etc.[18][19]

During the sexteto era, son groups began performing and touring more than ever before, and for the first time, recordings were being made. It was in this context that the first great innovators of the bongo made their mark, and unlike their predecessors, their names were not lost in time.[3] Of particular note were scar Sotolongo of the Sexteto Habanero and Jos Manuel Carriera Incharte "El Chino" of the Sexteto Nacional, the two leading groups of the 1920s and '30s. Sotolongo himself would later leave the Habanero and direct his own group, the Conjunto Tpico Cubano.[21] His replacement was Agustn Gutirrez "Manana", who is widely considered one of the most influential bongoseros, partly due to his condition as an Abaku member, which allowed him to develop techniques based on the eku (secret drum) drumming of such society.[15] In 1930, Sotolongo's son, Andrs Sotolongo replaced Gutirrez in the Habanero.[22] Decades later, at 82 years of age, Andrs Sotolongo was recorded for the Routes of Rhythm documentary playing alongside Isaac Oviedo.[23]

"The Cuban government has prohibited the beating of the African bongo drum. The restriction carries heavy penalties on the ground that the monotonous reverberations induce a state of savagery in ignorant listeners and a state of irritation in others."

In 1929, bongos and other drums were banned by the Cuban government.[24][25] This prohibition extended that of 1925, which outlawed congas in the context of street carnivals, but not the comparsas themselves. Ironically, this original ban was enacted by the mayor of Santiago de Cuba, Desiderio Arnaz II, father of Desi Arnaz, who later popularized congas, bongos and boks across America and the world. This repression of Afro-Cuban culture was denounced by poets in the Afrocubanismo such as Guilln, whose "Cancin del bong" (Song of the bongo) was published in 1931.[26]

The 1930s saw an increase in the technical skill of bongoseros, as evidenced by Clemente "Chicho" Piquero, whose virtuosic performances inspired a young Mongo Santamara to take up the instrument.[27][note 1] By the early 1940s, Santamara had become a master of the instrument, performing with the Lecuona Cuban Boys, Sonora Matancera, Conjunto Matamoros and Arsenio Rodrguez's "Conjunto Segundo" among others.[27] Arsenio had pioneered the conjunto format by incorporating a tumbadora (conga drum) into the rhythm section and having the bongosero double on cowbell. Arsenio's long-time bongosero was Antoln "Papa Kila" Surez, who is often cited as one of the greatest of his time along with Pedro Mena of the Conjunto Matamoros.[30] Arsenio's group also helped break the barriers of race, which particularly affected bongoseros. For example, the Orquesta Casino de la Playa did not allow their black bongosero Ramn Castro to perform on stage, nor was Arsenio allowed on the tres.[31] The Casino de la Playa would also feature bongosero Cndido Requena, who later joined the Conjunto Kubavana and Conjunto Nigara, and became one of Cuba's foremost makers of bongos and tumbadoras.[32] Requena, as well as the Vergara brothers, were instrumental in the technological improvement of bongos and congas.[33] Before the advent of mechanically tunable bongos and congas in the 1940s, both instruments used to be tuned with oil or kerosene lamps. The heat of the flame was used to contract the drumhead to achieve the desired sound.[33]

Following the popularization of the tumbadora, Santamara switched to the instrument, while remaining a close friend of bongosero Armando Peraza.[34] Both moved to New York by 1950, bringing their music abilities with them. Among the bongoseros who stayed in Cuba were the aforementioned Chicho Piquero, who had become a close friend of Benny Mor in Mexico and became his Banda Gigante's bongosero back in Cuba. Also important during the 1950s were Papa Gofio of the Conjunto Rumbavana and Rogelio "Yeyo" Iglesias, the main bongo player in Havana's descarga scene.[35] Over the course of the 20th century, the bongo spread throughout Latin America. In the Dominican Republic, the bongo became integral to bachata, a genre related to bolero that emerged in the 1960s.[36] ff782bc1db