Crescent Shadows On-Line Newsletter of the Hudson Valley Pagan Network, Inc.

A young boy sits in the middle of his Grandmother's dining room carpet with an array of different sized pots, pans and assorted found resonant devices surrounding him. Using wooden kitchen spoons as drumsticks the boy investigates the different tones produced when striking everything from the tiniest saucepan to the giant cast iron frying pan. He finds the metal mixing spoon makes the best "ting" sound while the wooden ones create a resounding "pang". A couple of empty coffee cans and a cardboard Quaker oats container round out the makeshift "drum kit". The young boy, as you may have ascertained, was myself, of course. From an early age I've been tapping pencils on desks, beating the silverware against the different sized drinking vessels at the breakfast table, and generally making a sort of "rhythmic noise". My fascination of music and percussion began at an early age, leading to a lifelong passion for playing drums in performance as well as for personal gratification and spiritual enlightenment. Hand drums, marching drums, drum kit with cymbals, you name it, I'll strike it! What many don't realize is that drumming can be therapeutic as well as fun for young or old.

The connection between percussion and spirituality goes back to the early days of this planet we call Earth and can be found in cultures all over the globe. In Japan huge Taiko drums are paraded through the streets to call the local residents to join in a festival. Taiko literally means "big drum" in Japanese and they live up to their name with some reaching sizes of up to six feet in diameter! These drums are also often played at rice planting ceremonies to awaken the Rain Gods with their thunderous overtones.

In African cultures the Griot, a sacred member of society, serves as the "living book of memory" as well as the town crier, passing the news and gossip by way of the drum.

Batá drumming is an important part of the religious practice of Santería, or Regla de Ocha, a broad group of religious and spiritual practices developed in Cuba based mostly on Yorùbá traditional religions, which recognize a creator God, along with a number of deities that represent various forces of nature or principles. These deities, including Elegguá, Ogún, Shangó, Yemayá, and others, are called Orishas. Each of the Orishas were invoked by a specific rhythm of the drums and songs of the congregation.

The batá drums can actually be used to speak the Yorùbá language, and have been used traditionally to recite prayers, religious poetry, greetings, announcements, praises for leaders, and even jokes or teasing. The Yorùbá language, the mother tongue of over 10 million people, is a tonal language, like Chinese and many African languages. Yorùbá speakers use three basic tones, or pitches, and glides between them, as an essential part of how words are pronounced. This is how the hourglass-shaped "talking drums" (called dundun in Yorùbá) are able to speak Yorùbá praises and sayings.

Even in this new millennium ancient meditation methods are being rediscovered. A technique called "shamanic journeying" uses the drum to produce meditative states through sound. It is believed that at 180 cycles-per-second the drum can approximate the base resonant frequency of the Earth itself, providing a way to tap into our psychic inner abilities to mentally travel great distances, heal sickness and predict (or even control) the future. Using the drum in this way, we can travel along our energy field lines through those dimensions -- in "ordinary" 3-D reality, in the non- ordinary "middle world", or elsewhere--anywhere on Earth or even other universes. This type of Shamanic drumming can be learned and, with practice, mastered by almost anyone. For more information on this type of "shamanic journeying" contact the Foundation for Shamanistic Studies at www.shamanism.org. Drumming in general can be a relaxing and spiritually moving experience, especially when done in groups or "drum circles". The power of different drum sounds coming together rhythmically can contribute to and enhance just about any form of ritual or magickal ceremony. One such annual ritual many may be familiar with is the large outdoor rock concert. For many years drum circles were largely popular primarily in the parking lot at Grateful Dead shows. Now they can be found practically everywhere. An excellent resource for information on drum circles, especially for beginners, is www.rhythmweb.com/circle. There also seems to be a growing interest in the Pagan community in ritual drumming. The Djembe, an African style hand drum, is the popular choice among many Pagan drummers.

Personally I am partial to the Klong Yaw, a drum native to Thailand, where the hourglass shape and unique sound adds to the religious music of the Buddhist temples. Traditionally they are pitched very low, but my commercially manufactured version has a synthetic head or "skin" (no animals harmed in the making of this one) that can be tuned much higher to give a greater range of sounds. The mylar "skin" is also less susceptible to climactic changes than the traditional cowhide or deerskin. The tensioning system is via nylon ropes, which can be adjusted rather than metal tuning lugs found on many commercial Djembes and Congas.

No matter what style or shape of drum you take to the important thing is that you play it. Whether played alone or in groups, the sensation of playing the drum is one unmatched by any other category of instrument.

If there is any interest among the HVPN community members to revive the Drumming special interest group I would be thrilled to host some informal gatherings. Whether you have a drum and would like to try playing with an informal circle or you're just curious, please contact me via-email at [email protected] or write at Andy Maroney, PO Box 4104, Clifton Park, NY 12065.

"It's a constant state of exploration and discovery, every time I go to the drum. You just have to let go. You have to let the drum play you-make it a meditation instead of a performance." - Mickey Hart

- Andy Maroney

Return to HVPN Home Page

This page visited  times.

Last Updated: September 28, 2003
Copyright 2001-2002 - Hudson Valley Pagan Network