The goblet drum, darbouka, originated in ancient Egypt. It is colloquially called the ‘darbuka’- a Turkish term- due to the historical relationship with ancient Macedonians in the region that is now Turkey (Duke University, n.d.). After Alexander the Great invaded Egypt in 332 C.E., cultural exchanges helped spread ‘darbuka’ throughout the Mediterranean, like Macedonia. Overtime, the “darbouka” became synonymous with Mizrahi Jews in the Middle East, and is now a cornerstone of their culture. (Prashizky, 2019).
- Duke University. (n.d.). Darbuka. Duke University Musical Instrument Collections. https://sites.duke.edu/dumic/instruments/percussion/middle-east/darbuka/
- Prashizky, A. (2019). Ethnic fusion in migration: The new Russian–Mizrahi pop-culture hybrids in Israel. Ethnicities, 19(6), 1062–1081. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468796819827452