Djembe

There is habitual agreement that the origin of the djembe is associated with a class of Mandinka/Susu blacksmiths certified as Numu. The deep dispersion of the djembe drums throughout West Africa may be due to Numu migrations dating from the first millennium A.D.

Spelling "jembe" with the "dj" comes from the basis that French back-number no hard "j" effectual like that found in English. The "dj" is used to indicate the hard "j" pronunciation. The French were instrumental in studying and describing African drumming to the world. However, http://www.x8drums.com/ colonization by the French is a sore spot for myriad West African people, and spelling jembe with the "d" can be a painful reminder of that. Since independence (1958-1960) African governments have been working toward indigenous ways of spelling their local languages in accordance with international standards of phonetic transcription. Marianne Friedländer, Lehrbuch des Malinke, Langenscheidt Verlag, 1992, p. 279, 159-160).