The djembe was created by the blacksmiths of the Malinke (called numun) whose tasks included that of carving the wooden shell for the drums. A tree was chosen and kola nuts offered to ask the spirits for permission to cut down the tree. This practice can still be found today in some villages of Upper Guinea.

The blacksmiths are also often, but not exclusively, the djembe players (Malinke: djembefola) of their village, but there are no hereditary restrictions on who can play the djembe. The traditional artisans associated with music in the Malinke culture, the griots (Malinke: djeli) rarely play the djembe. Our experience in both Guinea and Mali indicates that many drummers made the personal choice at a young age to pursue this vocation.