Tabala Wolof

Tabala Wolof is the ritual drum music of a West African Sufi order, the Qadiriya of Senegal. Led by a bass drum during nighttime worship, the Qadiriya play interlocking rhythms on tuned drums to inspire ecstatic singing.

Tabala Wolof evolved in the late 1700s, when the Qadiriya arrived in Senegal. Founded in Baghdad in the 1100s, the Qadiriya is the oldest Sufi order in the world. From the order's beginning, worshipers have played drums and sung prayers to experience God's presence. In Senegal, converts from the Wolof people incorporated traditional Wolof rhythms into Qadiriya worship, to satisfy their own taste and to communicate Qadiriya messages in the Wolof language.