A family of sacred, double-headed drums originating from the Yoruba culture in present-day Nigeria and Dahomey. Batá drums were brought to Cuba in the 1950s and are now also played in the US and elsewhere.

All batás are double-headed membranophones with an asymmetrical hourglass shape and wooden shells, either carved from one piece of wood (traditional style) or assembled from slats of wood. Each has a larger head (enú), which produces a more melodic sound, and a smaller head (chachá), which produces a more percussive, less clearly-pitched sound.

In Nigeria, 5 or more drums are used as a set, and can be played either by hand, or using a leather play stick, while in Cuba and the rest of the world 3 drums are used. In Cuba, the batá set consists of iyá, the largest, which is referred to as 'mother drum', while itótele, the middle one, and okónkolo, the smallest, are called 'father' and 'baby', respectively.

Their primary function is in religious ceremonies involving sacrifice, dancing, singing and spirit possession. Bata drums are now common in salsa and Latin jazz.