Drums Used in African Ceremonies
African drums come in many different varieties, sounds and styles, depending on which region in Africa they originated. The drums are used as a part of religious and societal ceremonies in African culture. The drums have recently gained popularity in Europe and the Americas. There are many different purposes to African drumming, including ancestral contact, general religious ceremonies, healing, weddings, birth/fertility ceremonies and entertainment. There are actually hundreds of different African drums with many variations for each individual tribe in Africa.
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History of African Drums
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Many African drums come from the West and South African areas because of the Bantu tribes' expansion and migrations. The Bantus had a very strong musical culture and spread it across Africa, introducing their drumming music as they went. Even though there are hundreds of African drums, there are a few that are the most common drums or types of drums. The pronunciation of African Drums are influenced by the French language, because many of the African dialects were put in written form by people who spoke French.
Djembe
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The djembe drum is possibly the most popular African drum in Europe and the Americas. It is also very common in West Africa, and it's used in many dances and ceremonies on the continent. It is made of a hollow, bell-shaped piece of wood with a cylinder coming out of the top of the bell, which makes it appear somewhat like an hourglass. There is an animal skin stretched with ropes across the bell's opening. The drum is played vertically, with the bell's mouth facing up.
The djembe drum has a very powerful sound that can be tuned by tying the ropes together. The djembe drum is played with hands completely flat; fingers should be spread differently for each sound or place you hit the drum. The "D" in djembe is silent and it is pronounced like Jem-bay. Each djembe drum is considered sacred and is believed to hold the spirit of the person who made it.
For thousands of centuries, the djembe was used in sacred rituals of African births, marriages and funerals. Medicine men often played the djembe to heal the spirit of the person who was sick.
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Doun-Doun
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The doun-doun is a group of drums containing the dundun, the sangban and the kenkeni. These types of African drums are also common in West Africa, and they're often used in conjunction with the djembe. Their tonal qualities compliment each other.
A doun-doun drum is made of wood in a cylindrical shape, which is slightly narrower at the center than the top and bottom. The doun-doun is played with open-palmed hands. The doun-doun was often played in the same types of ceremonies as the djembe.
Atumpan
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The atumpan is a goblet-shaped drum that is often played in a set. One of the atumpani is tuned high, and the other is tuned low. These drums are tuned higher or lower using the ropes on the sides of the drum to pull the skin tighter. Atumpan drums come from the west coast of the central part of Africa, in Ghana and Sierra Leon. Atumpan is commonly pronounced ah-toom-pan.
Batá and Bembay
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Of Nigerian Yoruba origin, the batá drum was introduced to Cuba through slave trade. It is shaped in a goblet form like many drums found in Africa. Batás are used now in everyday life for entertainment, but they were historically played in very sacred ceremonies for diety. The drum is pronounced with an emphasis on the final a sound of the word batá. The bata drum is a now a component in modern Cuban jazz music.
The bembe drum was introduced to Cuba by slave trade from the Yoruba culture, like its counterpart the batá drum. It is straight sided and is sometimes played horizontally, with sticks. The bembe was played for only royalty in certain ceremonies. The pronunciation is simply bem-bay.
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References
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- Photo Credit fleurs et djembé image by Anthony CALVO from Fotolia.com
