Set of Lucumí shékere or ágbe from Havana. Produced by Sergio López Mancebo, March 2001. Made from guira amarga, máte seeds, and cotton cord. Dimensions: Caja: 16” (right), Dos Golpes: 12.5” (middle); Salidor: 21.5” (left). Sergio López, a professional drum maker, produces shékere and other traditional Afro-Cuban percussion instruments for members of the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba, such as Olo-Elegba and Olú-batá Alberto Villareal. Shékere (chékere in the Spanish spelling), from the Yoruba, sèkèrè (calabash-drum), are made from carefully selected bottle gourds, which are covered with a network of hard seeds, such as the máte, large beads, and sometimes cowrie shells. The shékere ensemble is commonly called guiro, a term also naming the performance event itself, a Guiro. Three musicians play the caja (largest), dos golpes (middle-size), and salidor (narrow and long) gourds, respectively; one or two drummers play conga; another plays the guataca, an iron hoe blade struck with a small wrench or metal rod; finally, a highly trained soloist (cantante) leads the group in Lucumí songs to the orishas. A shékere is attacked from below with the butt of the palm, while it is held loosely by the neck and rocked with the other hand, in order for two sounds/timbres to be produced simultaneously: a resonating drum tone and a higher frequency rattle, as the seeds collectively click against the gourd’s hard surface. Guiro musicians, especially if they are also competent batá drummers, can approximate the more complex batá rhythms with their gourd and conga drum ensemble. An Ocha priest’s need or desire to “play to” a particular orisha may not require the consecrated batá ensemble, but, rather a Guiro--essentially an Ocha “party” to praise a deity of honor, during which spirit possessions often occur.

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