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Alfaias are bass drums from Pernambuco, a state on the eastern tip of Brazil, where they are used in maracatu, mangue, and related music forms. Well-known regional artists such as Chico Science & Nacão Zumbi and Mestre Ambrosio use them in their performances and recordings.

They are also known as surdos de cordas (rope surdos), and are included in the class of bass drums called bombos, which includes surdo drums and zabumbas as well. The largest alfaias are called alfaia marcante. Medium-sized drums are called alfaia meião. I have also heard them referred to as bombo marçacão and bombo virador, though I'm not sure what distinguishes the two.

These drums are similar to surdos and may be an ancestor of their popular urban cousins. The first feature one notices that sets them apart from surdos is the rope tuning. The two cow- or goathide heads are clamped to the wooden body with thick wooden hoops. The hoops are threaded with rope which is used for tensioning the heads. Alfaias are played with distinctly-shaped fat wooden drumsticks; sometimes the stick in the dominant hand is a little larger than the one used in the weak hand. Their construction is similar to 19th Century US and European military drums, bombos, and other Latin American wooden bass drums. They often have a rustic, natural look, but I also have seen them in many brilliant colors.

Alfaias are still quite unknown outside Pernambuco. There, local drum makers build drums of various levels of quality. Some have gained reputations for building the alfaias of the popular mangue groups.

There is a web page by the German band, SambaMania, that shows the construction of one of their alfaias. They also have many photos of their colorful, locally-made alfaias. Check the "Buildergalerie" (Photo Gallery).

Commercial Models
The only large company I know of that makes alfaias is Contemporanea. They make a 20" tambor maracatu, which I haven't seen yet on their website. I bought one from BrazilianPercussion.com. Contemporanea seems to have done a good job of reproducing the maracatu "surdo de corda". They have made the shell very thin and light, cleverly reinforced at the bearing edges and middle, where the tuning ropes press against the sides.

BrazilianPercussion.com even included two maracatu sticks and a strap.

Alfaia Construction
Alfaias are made of wood with leather heads. The heads are held in place with with wooden rings called counterhoops. This is the same basic construction as the bass drum in drum kits. The rings are tensioned against the drum shell by ropes. The shell itself is of wood. According to Brazilian Percussion's website, the shell is made of macaíba wood (from a palm, also called corozo) and the counterhoops of jenipapo wood (a tropical, fruitbearing tree with hard, elastic wood, also known as genipap).

The heads are hide from cattle or goats. They are wrapped and tucked around wooden frames. They are usually between 16" and 24" in diameter.

Over the past few years, this traditional style of alfaia is getting replaced by surdo-like bombos, with metal frames and tuning rods.

Playing an Alfaia
Traditionally strapped over the shoulder, alfais are played with a distinctive technique. Because it is worn opposite the players dominant hand, the drum is in an awkward position for the weak hand. Players hold the weak-hand drumstick inverted to get the proper attack on the head. I am still trying to learn this playing technique. In some mangue bands, such as Nacão Zumbi, the alfaia-players wear the drums strapped around the waist, much like surdos in Bahia.

These are ancestral afaias in a museum. This was one of several photos from this website.

From the same website, this is from a set of photos of a Pernambuco group playing a jam.