The afoxé (also known as the cabaça or cabaca) is an Afro-Brazilian unpitched percussion instrument in the idiophone family. It is composed of a hollowed vessel wrapped in a net through which beads or seeds are threaded.

Afoxé is Afro-Brazilian music and culture that performs during the Carnival in Salvador, Bahia. The Afoxé is composed of percussion-based music with the use of religious symbols from the Afro-Brazilian religion called Candomblé which is derived from the Yoruba world view. As such, the Afoxé groups march through the streets of Salvador, Bahia during Brazilian Carnival and perform the Ijexá rhythmical pattern of music which is directly related to the sacred drumming traditions found within the Candomblé ceremonies.

While Afoxé is generally recognized within the context of the Carnival celebration, researchers are beginning to document its origins in Afro-Brazilian religion and as an important vehicle for the public expression of Afro-Brazilian identity. The procession format for Afoxé allows for the adaptation of traditional orisha (Candomblé spirits) rituals and costumes into formats suitable for public display. As one of the largest and most influential Afoxé groups, Filhos de Gandhy was formed in 1949 and has become a key element in defining the modern-day Afoxé procession.

Researchers have defined Afoxé as both an African music practice (ritualistic) and a cultural institution that provides an interface between the sacred ritualism of the Afro-Brazilian community and the secular festival atmosphere of Carnaval celebrations. Afoxé has provided a venue for increasing awareness of Afro-Brazilian religious traditions nationally and internationally through its involvement in Carnaval celebrations, and also provides a cultural platform for the community to express their identity.

The afoxé likely originated from the shekere, a similar percussion instrument from West Africa. As enslaved West African people were brought to Brazil, they replicated the shekere using materials that were readily available to them, such as gourds and coconut seeds. Modern afoxés are often mass-produced and made from wood.

The use of the term "afoxé" is used to describe both the instrument (beaded gourd shakers) used in Afro-Brazilian ensemble percussion and the Carnival procession traditions they are a part of. In terms of instrumentation, the term may refer to an individual beaded gourd shaker which produces a specific type of rhythmic pattern called ijexá when played by an ensemble. Because the terminology is so directly tied to the instrument, the rhythms it plays, and the format for each procession, the sounds from the shaker have become synonymous with the specific ijexá rhythmic patterns used to create the music during public parades. As a result, the term has evolved over time to specifically describe the organized Carnival groups that perform Afro-Brazilian religiously derived music in Salvador, Brazil.

Ritual drumming was an important part of Candomblé ceremonial rituals in Afro-Brazilian communities that were developing in Salvador, Bahia during the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. At this time, these drumming practices began to enter public celebrations for Carnival. This entry into public celebrations was an example of larger societal trends that were allowing Afro-Brazilian communities to gain a stronger presence in public spaces that had previously been used primarily as spaces for elite celebrations.

When sacred music was adapted to be played in public Carnival processions, it was not a complete loss of its spiritual significance. Instead, Afoxé maintained the use of some musical elements such as rhythmic structure, symbolic gestures and costume designs that were developed through ritual practice but presented in ways that allowed for broader audiences to participate.