The daf is a large Persian frame drum used in popular and classical music. The frame is usually made of hardwood with many metal ringlets attached, and the membrane is usually goatskin. Daf is mostly used in the Middle East, Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Armenia, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia, and usually accompanies singers and players of the tanbur, violin, oud, saz and other Middle Eastern instruments. Some dafs are equipped with small cymbals, making them analogous to a large tambourine. (source)