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Whats a fun fact about the bongos?
Bongos are the largest forest antelope. Native people believe if they eat or touch bongo they will have spasms similar to epileptic seizures. Because of this superstition, bongos have been relatively unharmed in their native ranges. Population counts are sketchy as these are very secretive animals.
Why are they called bongos?
Ethnomusicologists have theorized that the origin of the word “bongo” comes from the Bantu words ngoma or mgombo, meaning drum. The bongo’s earliest musical roots are found in the Eastern provinces of Cuba in the Changüi and Son, two musical genres that feature the bongo as the sole percussive drum.
Is bongo an African instrument?
Bongos (Spanish: bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed drums of different sizes.
Who invented the bongo?
Cuba
The history of bongo drumming can be traced to the Cuban music styles known as Changui and Son. These styles first developed in eastern Cuba (Orient province) in the late 19th century. Initially, bongos had heads that were tacked and tuned with a heat source.
How were bongos invented?
Most sources on Afro-Cuban cultural history argue that the bongo derives from Bantu drum models from Central Africa, noticeable in the open bottoms. The strong historical presence of Africans from the Congo/Angola region in Eastern Cuba (where the bongo first appeared) makes such an influence possible.
Can you eat a bongo?
Even though there are taboos against eating bongo meat by locals, the lowland bongo are still subject to snare hunting due to expanding commercial forestry exploitation. They are the primary target of tourist safari hunting in central Africa, and the demand has been increasing during the past decade.
Do bongos eat meat?
Like many forest ungulates, bongos are herbivorous browsers and feed on leaves, bushes, vines, bark and pith of rotting trees, grasses/herbs, roots, cereals, and fruits. Bongos require salt in their diets, and are known to regularly visit natural salt licks.
How long do bongos live for?
19 years
How long do they live? Bongos can live up to 19 years in the wild.