A bongo is a pair of small, connected drums that you play with your hands. Each bongo drum is shaped like a cylinder with one open end covered by a tight drumhead, and the two drums are slightly different sizes: one higher-pitched, one lower. Musicians hold bongos between their knees or rest them on a stand, then strike the drumheads with their fingers and palms to create rhythmic patterns.

Bongos developed in Cuba and became important in Afro-Cuban music styles like salsa and son. The rhythms bongo players create often drive the energy of a song, adding layers of percussion that make people want to dance. You might hear bongos in Latin jazz, pop music, or even in school music classes, where their relatively simple design makes them accessible for beginners while still allowing skilled players to create complex, rapid-fire patterns.

The word can also refer to a type of African antelope with spiral horns and distinctive white stripes, though when someone says “bongo” without context, they almost always mean the drums.