A Bata drum is a double-headed shaped drum like an hourglass with one cone larger than the other. The percussion instrument is used primarily for the use of religious or semi-religious purposes for the native culture from the land of Yoruba, located in Nigeria, as well as by worshippers of Santería in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and in the United States.

Several different types of drums have existed throughout the world, serving many different purposes in history; occasionally, natives from cultures which the drums originate, as in the case of the Yorùbá, used the drums for religious ceremonies and, since their introduction in Cuba in the 1820s, have come to be an understood and important part of the perceived culture of the southwestern Nigerian people.

The drum dates back roughly 500 years, and is believed to have been introduced by Yoruba king, Shangó. Despite the previous long history, awareness of the instrument didn't spread until the 1800's slave-trade in which close to 300,000 Yorùbá natives were brought to Cuba. The religion and beliefs the Yorùbá brought with them eventually became the basis for what is known as Lukumí (or Santería in Cuban). This religion spawned the creation of the first 'sacred' Bata in Cuba around 1830 by a Yorùbá named Añabi.

The Bata slowly became inducted into the Cuban culture after a time, and began to take on more secular uses: they were first publicly performed in 1935 in a broadcast over Cuban radio for purposes of folklore music. Uses such as this have grown as knowledge of the instrument has spread; more and more musicians not currently practicing Lukumí have used versions of the drums in recordings or performances. These 'non-sacred' Bata drums are called aberínkula--profane Bata. Bata drums and rhythms have started to be used in other genres, most notably in Cuban timba, jazz and hip hop. In the 1970s, for instance, a mixture of Bata drums and Big Band called Son-Bata or Bata Rock became popular, a genre highly influenced by Los Irakere.