Anyone here who practice Afro-Cuban or certain forms of African drumming? I need to understand the concept of "clave" and "bell pattern". If I understand well this is a sort of polyrhythmic metronome that is manually beaten and part of the music? When I read articles they talk about it as a tool of "temporal organization" that also adds a rhythmic feel. Some people call it the "backbone of the music". I would like to understand how I should interpret it and compose using it

Help is appreciated, thanks.