Bamboo drums have been used as musical instruments since the Zhou Dynasty. In the Zhou Dynasty, there were eight tones, and the bamboo drum was the leader of the group. The cultural connotation of the bamboo drum was broad and profound. The vulgar can be the gongs and drums of folk celebration, and the elegant can enter the temple for sacrifice and the court banquet.
From primitive pottery drums, earth drums, leather drums, and bronze drums to a wide variety of modern drums, drums are one of the most popular and widely used musical instruments. There is a view that the earliest drums should have been used by ancient ancestors, and evolved from pottery pots, pots and other living utensils. The manufacture of pottery drums has already begun.
The pottery drum, also known as the earth drum, is made of pottery clay fired into a drum frame and then covered with animal leather. In China, the tradition of making pottery drums with tiles as the frame has been followed for a long time. Waist drums were introduced into China from the Western Regions and were widely popular in the Tang Dynasty. In addition to wood materials, the waist drums of the Tang Dynasty also used ceramics as drum materials.

The earliest bamboo drum was a bamboo-made sounding instrument made of a large dragon bamboo tube. Later, it was covered with pig bladders, frog skins or snake skins. The Dai people in Dehong call the bamboo drum the pig urine bubble drum. The Lancang Bulang people call bamboo drums earth drums or earth drums, and its use is closely related to customs and activities.
In the past, in the years when there was no rain for a long time, according to the traditional ethnic customs, the whole village held religious prayers for rain and sacrifices. Most of the time, a 30 cm deep round pit was dug under the big green trees on the hillside outside the village, and a bamboo drum was placed in the village. Inside the pit, there is a table in front of the pit for food such as chicken, wine, and glutinous rice. At the end of the 1970s, after the transformation and development of musicians in Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County, the drum waist and drum feet were extended at the lower end of the drum shell, so that it could be played on the spot.