This does not resemble a regular drum. Sekere is made from all natural calabash gourd with attached cowry shells or net of beads. It is used to generate a different pace of musical rhythm. Dancing to it requires much less effort, compared to bata. Sekere sound nice on its own but often used in ensemble of drums to add richness and depth to Yoruba musical tunes.
Sekere performer twisted, bang or shaken the gourd to produce the unique rhythm. At the height of performance, sekere player could throw the instrument in the air and then reclame it to generate excitement among audience.
Due to its subtleness and ease of use, Sekere could be played by both men and women.
There are some group of performing artist called sekere and aro perfomers. These artists use sekere and a unique bell called aro as their main musical instrument. The aro is made from forged iron. Sekere and aro performers sometimes play together with dundun drummers to launch a more rich melodious sound of dundun-sekere-aro ensemble. Sekere and aro perfomers could be found in social events like wedding, house warming, crowning ceremony and so on, especially in small towns across Yoruba land.
Watch sekere-dundun ensemble seen here.
Watch a group of women sekere performers.