makuta vary from place to place, makuta is always a dance-drumming event with sacred significance. The functions of its African antecedents, however, are said to be more ceremonial, possibly to accompany the coronation of kings in the Congo. In Cuba, makuta activities are associated with Congo cabildos and have been called “public religious music”, a reference to its openness compared to other Congo religious practices in Cuba such as Palo. In the instances that they are used for funeral ceremonies, they can be accompanied by the kinfuiti drum, a friction drum similar to the Brazilian cuica but larger. Though historically only practiced in cabildos, after the Cuban revolution a number of Afro-Cuban folkloric groups began to perform makuta for staged performances, recordings, and tourists. Such groups, such as Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba and Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas, make use of tumbadoras instead of actual makuta drums. References Neira Betancourt, Lino (2005). La Percusión en la Música Cubana. Havana: Editorial Letras Cubanas. Ortiz, Fernando (1952). Los Instrumentos de la Música Afrocubana. Vol 3. Havana: Dirección de Cultura del Ministerio de Educación. Vinueza González, María Elena (1997). "Makuta" In Instrumentos de la Música Folclórico-popular de Cuba. Victoria Eli Rodríguez, ed. Havana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales. Cuban musical instruments Hand drums