[1] A dunun is a rope-tuned cylindrical drum with a rawhide skin at both ends, most commonly cow or goat.

Traditionally, the drum is played horizontally (placed on a stand or worn with a shoulder strap).

[citation needed] Three different sizes of dunun are commonly played in West Africa.

In Mali and northeast Guinea, the dundunba and sangban are often both referred to as jeli-dunun (also spelled djeli-dunun) because they were traditionally played by the jelis (French: griots).

Among the Bamana people in Mali, the dundunba is known as khassonka dunun and the sangban is known as konkoni (played without a bell).

Specifically, the kenkeni, sangban, and dununba players are referred to as kenkenifola, sangbanfola, and dununbafola, respectively.

This style is one of the most known in the west, due to the influence of Mamady Keïta, Famoudou Konaté, Mohamed Diaby, Bolokada Conde, and other players from Guinea.

It is formed of three dununs of different sizes; the kenkeni (smallest), sangban (medium) and dununba (largest).