Ceremonial African Drums
Today we usually think of drums as part of musical entertainment, something that keeps the beat when we are on the dance floor. However, for centuries drums have had much more cultural and religious significance. In various African tribal traditions drums have played a ceremonial role. Though there are many different sounds and styles of African instruments across geographic areas, drums are played at celebrations, funerals, and festivals. Ceremonial African drums are not just instruments, but are the centerpieces of community activities.
Studying all of the different ceremonial African drums and their uses in practice would be an impossible job, and even learning the musical ways of one ethnic group is the work of a scholar's lifetime. What we can do is take a look at a few familiar African instruments that have come to be widely used in popular music.
Ceremonial African drums came to the Caribbean along with the West Africans. Some examples of African instruments would be the conga, the bongos and the bata. The conga, which gives salsa music its distinctive percussion sound, has origins in Central Africa. Bongos are widely used throughout Western, Central, and East Africa. The Bata, which is likely to be quite familiar to hip-hop and reggae listeners, came originally from the Yoruba people of Nigeria.
The Bata, in particular, has great significance in Afro-Caribbean religion. As with the scroll and the crucifix in other religious traditions, the bata is an integral part of sacred gatherings. It was originally considered the drum of royalty and over time it came to be regarded as a means of opening communication with the spiritual world.
There is much fascination with the idea of the talking drum. Every movie with an African setting includes talking drums as a plot point. The real story is that sounds made by the talking drum are based on tonal language. While this is not unique to African drums - think of the We Are the Champions chant at sports events - the African instruments take the same concept to a unique level of complexity and inventiveness in communication.
The characteristic sound of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.djembedrumsonline.com/">ceremonial african drums</a> is a result of many different rhythms being played simultaneously. This is called polyrhythm and it makes for very complex and dynamic music. This sound is part of the widespread appeal of African instruments for professional musicians and hobbyists alike. Anyone can purchase bongos or a djembe, join a drum circle, and enjoy a lively experience of communal music-making.
Where you find ceremonial African drums you will also find collective movement. The dancers are lead and instructed by the drummers. For instance, one kind of dance might be done for the birth of a boy and another for a girl. Certain specific beat patterns might be played for a wedding anniversary as opposed to a commemoration of some other event. The one thing that is constant is that every important event in the community calls for a collective musical response anchored by the drums.
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