Other Fine Southwest Collectibles: Pueblo Drums

Native drums are generally used during traditional dances at many of the Pueblos located along the Rio Grande and its streams. The drum has played an intrinsic role in the lives of Native Peoples for centuries. Celebrations and ceremonial dances are accompanied by the reverberating pulse of the drum, which suggests the thunder that comes with rain.

Crafted from natural materials over a months-long process, American Indian drums are constructed of a wooden frame, or a carved and hollowed-out log. They can be natural or colorfully painted with solid colors or designs. Drum bodies are created from native woods of New Mexico such as cottonwood, aspen or pine. Drumheads are usually made from cow, deer, elk, goat, horse or buffalo hide stretched taut across the opening by sinew thongs. Traditionally, Native American drums are two to three feet in diameter.