Tabwa / Batabwa chest drum / Trommel / Tambour -nfukula- Lake Tanganyika area

"Nfukula chest drums are played by minstrels called sikaomba, who travel from place to place singing the praises of chiefs or other important people... Chest-drum players accompanied men to battle, giving them courage by singing their praises."
Excerpt from: Maurer, Evan M., Roberts, Allen F. : (1985) Tabwa - The Rising of a New Moon : A Century of Tabwa Art. University of Michigan Museum of Art.

A similar instrument is the nghomba of the Tumbwe people and the chest drum of the Wahorohoro ( Holoholo ) in the same region. The nfukula chest drums have heads made from Nile monitor skins fastened with acacia thorns.
This drum is always decorated with carved geometrical lines.

Bibliography:
Maurer, Evan M.; Roberts, Allen F. : (1985) Tabwa - The Rising of a New Moon : A Century of Tabwa Art. University of Michigan Museum of Art.
Boone, Olga (1951) : Les tambours du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi. 2Vol. Tervuren: Annales du Musée du Congo Belge; Ethnographie 1
Laurenty, Jean-Sébastien. (1996). L’Organologie du Zaïre. Tome III. Les membranophones. Tervuren : Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale.
Esther A. Dagan (ed.) (1993) – Drums : The heartbeat of Africa. Galerie Amrad African Art Publications.
Thomson Josef (1891) To the Central African Lakes and back. London.