Editing Djembe (section)

==Origin==
[[File:MALI empire map.PNG|thumb|right|alt=Map of the Mali Empire, circa 1350 AD|[[Mali Empire]] c.&nbsp;1350&nbsp;AD]]
There is general agreement that the origin of the djembe is associated with the [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] caste of blacksmiths, known as ''[[Blacksmiths of western Africa|Numu]]''. The wide dispersion of the djembe drum throughout West Africa may be due to Numu migrations during the first millennium AD.<ref name="Charry">{{cite journal |last=Charry |first=Eric |title=A Guide to the Jembe |date=April 1996 |journal=Percussive Notes |volume=34 |issue=2 |url=http://echarry.web.wesleyan.edu/jembearticle/article.html |access-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116093252/http://echarry.web.wesleyan.edu/jembearticle/article.html |archive-date=January 16, 2012 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref> Despite the association of the djembe with the Numu, there are no hereditary restrictions on who may become a ''djembefola'' (literally, "one who plays the djembe"). This is in contrast to instruments whose use is reserved for members of the ''[[griot]]'' caste, such as the ''[[balafon]]'', ''[[Kora (instrument)|kora]]'', and ''[[Ngoni (instrument)|ngoni]]''.<ref name="MM" /> (The djembe is not a griot instrument.)<ref name="Polak Bamako"/> Anyone who plays djembe is a djembefola—the term does not imply a particular level of skill.

Geographically, the traditional distribution of the djembe is associated with the [[Mali Empire]],<ref>{{cite book|first1=Séga|last1=Sidibé|first2=Cyril|last2=Piquet|title=Sega Kan Do|publisher=ID Music|isbn=978-2-7466-1384-3|year=2010|location=Courbevoie Cedex, France}}</ref> which dates back to 1230 AD and included parts of the modern-day countries of [[Guinea]], [[Mali]], [[Burkina Faso]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[The Gambia|Gambia]], and [[Senegal]]. However, due to the lack of written records in West African countries, it is unclear whether the djembe predates or postdates the Mali Empire. It seems likely that the history of the djembe reaches back for at least several centuries and possibly more than a millennium.<ref name="MM" />

The goblet shape of the djembe suggests that it originally may have been created from a [[Mortar and pestle|mortar]]. (Mortars are widely used throughout West Africa for food preparation.)<ref name="Billmeier" />