Caja
Encyclopedia
The caja, a drum similar to a tambora
Tambora
Tambora may refer to:* In music:**Tanpura, an instrument used in Indian classical music for continuous production of consonating reference notes **Tambora , an Afro-Caribbean percussion instrument...

, is one of the three main or traditional instruments of the Vallenato
Vallenato
Vallenato, along with cumbia, is currently a popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia's Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in...

 music. Caja, the slang word adopted to nickname this drum, means "box" in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

. There is also a Caribbean drum called caja, used in the music of Cuba
Music of Cuba
The Caribbean island of Cuba has developed a wide range of creolized musical styles, based on its cultural origins in Europe and Africa. Since the 19th century its music has been hugely popular and influential throughout the world...

.

Origins

African slaves brought by the Spanish colonizers came along with tambora
Tambora
Tambora may refer to:* In music:**Tanpura, an instrument used in Indian classical music for continuous production of consonating reference notes **Tambora , an Afro-Caribbean percussion instrument...

s to what is now northeastern Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 probably derived from the Congolese makuta
Makuta (drum)
Makuta drums are tall cylindrical or barrel-shaped Afro-Cuban drums, often cited as an important influence on the development of the tumbadora . They are used in sacred dance-drumming ceremonies associated with the descendants of slaves brought to Cuba from Central Africa...

 drum. Tambora
Tambora
Tambora may refer to:* In music:**Tanpura, an instrument used in Indian classical music for continuous production of consonating reference notes **Tambora , an Afro-Caribbean percussion instrument...

s were first adopted by the Cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...

 musical genre and later introduced to Vallenato
Vallenato
Vallenato, along with cumbia, is currently a popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia's Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in...

 music. With the advancement of technology new make and models developed the traditional drum into an instrument similar in make to a conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...

.

Parts

Traditional: Elliptic cylinder made out of wood and a cow skin (drumhead
Drumhead
A drumhead is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum.-History:...

) stretched over the top wider opening and tighten with rustic ropes, approximately 12 inches of height.

Modern Version: similar in made to a congas drum but shorter in height (approx. 12 inches). Made out of the same wood base but no ropes are used to stretch and hold the skin, instead a metal frame bolted to the wooden base is used to hold the animal skin or X-ray photo (radiograph) made skin.

Playing the Caja

Vallenato has four different rhythms to which the caja adapts to mark the base key: Rubbing and strucking with hand palms.
  • Son
  • Paseo
  • Merengue
  • Puya
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