The Tamboré is a folk game and dance that was done by men and women on Margarita Island.

Usually, they start by making two rows, one with men and one with women (or they alternate men and women in each line). These rows or lines, stand face to face, usually with hands on the waist. They began the dance in step with a line as follows:

Game Instructions

On the line, "Que cante la niña, tamboré" (Let the girl sing, tamboré) both rows exchange positions, turning at the end to always be facing forward.

Then they continue, "Que cante el niñito, tamboré" (Let the little boy sing, tamboré) and again they exchange positions.

Then they sing, "Que cante la rana, tamboré" (Let the frog sing, tamboré). They exchange positions again, imitating the gestures and movements of frogs.

Next they sing, "Que cante la mona, tamboré" (Let the monkey sing, tamboré). While imitating the movements of a monkey, they exchange positions and so on...

They continue mentioning names of animals and other things while imitating them for as long as they want to play the game.

Comments

It seems nowadays the Tamboré mostly done at folk festivals.

There are many modern videos online of single couples doing a dance called the tambore on the beach in Venezuela to the beat of the tambor (drum). Perhaps the name of the instrument is the root of the name of both dances.

Thanks and Acknowledgements

Learn more Traditional Games from Margarita Island online (in Spanish).