Editing Djembe (section)

====Traditional mounting====
[[File:Historical djembe.jpg|thumb|upright|Traditional djembe used by the [[Kono people]] from the [[Nzérékoré]] region in [[Guinée forestière|Forest Guinea]]. (From the collection of [[Musée de l'Homme]], Paris, added to the collection in 1938.)]]

Originally, the skin was attached by wooden pegs that were driven through holes in the skin and the shell near the playing edge. Four to five people would stretch the wet skin over the drum to apply tension while the pegs were driven into the bowl. The shrinkage of the skin while it dried then applied sufficient additional tension for the skin to resonate.<ref name="Dublin">{{cite video |people=Mamady Keïta |title=Djembe talk and performance with Mamady Keïta at the Big Bang festival in Dublin, Ireland |volume=Part 1 |format=flv |url=http://djembefola.com/mamady-keita-interview.php |access-date=January 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103151853/http://djembefola.com/mamady-keita-interview.php |archive-date=January 3, 2012 |url-status=dead |publisher=djembefola.com |year=2009 |time=14:05 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> A similar mounting technique is still used by the Landouma (a subgroup of the [[Baga people]]) for a djembe-like drum known as a ''gumbe''.<ref name="Koumbassa">{{cite video|title=Landouma Fare: From the Heartland|medium=DVD|people=Youssouf Koumbassa (himself), Julian McNamara, Kate Farrell (directors)|publisher=B-rave Studio|year=2010}}</ref> This mounting technique most likely goes back hundreds of years; the exact period is unknown.

Up until the 1980s, the most common mounting system used twisted strips of cowhide as rope. The skin was attached with rings made of cowhide; one ring was sewn into the perimeter of the skin and a second ring placed below it, with loops holding the skin in place and securing the two rings together. A long strip of cowhide was used to lace up the drum, applying tension between the top ring and a third ring placed around the stem. To apply further tension, the vertical sections of the rope were woven into a diamond pattern that shortens the verticals. Wooden pegs wedged between the shell and the lacing could be used to increase tension still further.<ref name="Dublin" />

The pitch of these traditional djembes was much lower than it is today because the natural materials imposed a limit on the amount of tension that could be applied. Prior to playing, djembefolas heated the skin near the flames of an open fire, which drives moisture out of the skin and causes it to shrink and increase the pitch of the drum. This process had to be repeated frequently, every 15–30 minutes.<ref name="Polak Bamako" />