Traditionally, the drum was the heartbeat, the soul of most African communities. Drums have been an intrinsic part of African life for centuries and for countless generations, an ancient instrument used to celebrate all the aspects of life. In Western culture drumming is, most often, about entertainment. In Africa, drums hold a deeper, symbolic and historical significance. They herald political and social events attending ceremonies of birth, death and marriage. They spark courtships, they herald home-coming and going and they accompany religious rites and rituals, calling up ancestral spirits.
They are used as an alarm or a call to arms stirring up emotions for battle and war. They can also inspire passion and excitement and even cause trances, a momentary loss of consciousness to either the drummer or the listener. They symbolize and protect royalty and are often housed in sacred dwellings. They are protected during battle.
On the other side, drums are about communication and making music, two essential characteristics of community life. For centuries the ‘talking drums’ were a primary source of communication between tribes used to transmit messages sometimes across great distances.
.
Drums Courtesy of: @sankofa_tafari
.
.
.
#drumlessonsnyc #drumlessons #nycdrumlessons #brookyln #africandrum #africandrumlessons #nycdrummer #djembe #logdrum #balaphone #ambessastudiosnyc #williamsburgbrooklyn #kingofmarijuananyc #kingofcoffeenyc #yebunanegusnyc #ghana #ethiopia #westafrica #eastafrica #southafrica #northafrica #westafricandrumming #eastafricandrumming #handdrum #africanhanddrumming #nyabhingidrumming #sankofatafari
