Distant voice of ancestors in the original sound of ethnic drums

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The original sound of ethnic drums contains the mysterious voices of our distant ancestors, the echoes of magical rites and the enchanting rhythm of ritual dances. The history of these instruments dates back to the bottomless mists of time. Drums found during excavations in Mesopotamia date back to the sixth millennium BC, and in ancient Egypt, their traces are visible four thousand years before the birth of Christ.

A musical instrument from the percussion family

The drum is the most famous representative of this group and at the same time one of the oldest musical instruments ever used by mankind. The first drums had the same basic structure as their modern successors - a membrane is stretched over a hollow resonator body, which, when struck with a hand or stick, produces a resonant sound.

The use of ethnic drums by different peoples has a deep symbolic meaning and each of them keepsrich traditions of their owners.

Drums: early history

Before the advent of drums, man probably beat the rhythm on rocks or fallen trees. Ethnic drums of Mesopotamia, in particular, in the Babylonian and Sumerian empires, which were made of animal skin stretched over a hollow base, are considered one of the oldest. In the Middle East, the drum was revered as an instrument to invoke the goddess of love and fertility, Inanna, the central female deity in Sumerian mythology and religion. The sound of the drum was considered sacred. In addition to religious ceremonies, Sumerian drums were used in civil and military gatherings.

As time passed, ancient people began to use certain types of wood for their manufacture, and one of the revered and expensive was spruce. The largest drum was four meters in diameter and hung on poles supported by several men.

Talking Drums of West Africa

Meanwhile, in West Africa, various kinds of "talking drums" were created that could be used to imitate human speech in terms of tone and rhythm. The drums of Africa, "speaking" with human voices, are one of the wonders of the Black Continent that cannot be forgotten. These instruments were usually hourglass shaped with leather stretched at both ends.

Earliest examples date back to the Ghana Empire in the seventh century BC. African drums "talk"by creating tones corresponding to words, and they have been successfully used to transmit information over fairly long distances. The folk tradition of one of the West African tribes says "In the beginning the Creator made the Drummer, the Hunter and the Blacksmith". Drummers were considered important people and were often relieved of other duties. Without a drum, it was impossible to imagine any important event taking place in the tribes, but not without blood. In those distant times, it was believed that the drum would not be able to speak properly until it heard the voice of a person in death throes, and for this they were sprinkled with the blood of human victims.

Music of Indian tribes

An interesting example of the use of drums in Native American ethnic music, which plays a vital role in history and education, with ceremonies that orally pass on the traditions of ancestors to new generations, is interesting to expand on the topic. Traditionally, it is believed that music is of divine origin, and the first mention dates back to the 7th century. The drums often represent the heartbeat, whether it be the heartbeat of a person, an animal, or even the Earth in the form of a mother. They have long accompanied dances and songs through which the Indians communicated with the plant and natural world, and also expressed their love and respect.

Different available materials were used to create ethnic drums. In forested areas, logs were used as the basis; in the southwest, this role was played by ceramics. Fitted hollow partinstrument with animal skin. The smaller instruments were played by one person, while the larger ones were surrounded by a group of drummers playing in unison. Ceremonial drums were always treated with great care and respect, they were fumigated with tobacco during a special ceremony at sunrise before social events and alcohol was forbidden to be used near them. Some drums were considered living beings, and great care and attention was paid to their creation and decoration, and for many instruments their life ended with the death of their owners. Ethnic drumming is very symbolic for the natives of the United States, Canada and Mexico, and their magical sounds, enticing with mystery and innuendo, still fascinate listeners.

Ethnic drums in our time

Today, thousands of years after their first use, they remain an integral part of modern music and culture, despite the advent of electronic and computer instruments.

Ethnic music and drums - bongos, djembe, darbuka, tam-tam - we can say that today they are getting their second birth, as they convey the rhythm of the soul, human nature and are an excellent way of self-expression and relaxation, which so lacking for people in the heavy rhythm of modern life. Their mysterious sounds allow you to forget about vanity and problems for a while, recharge with a powerful flow of energy, absorbing new sensations and states.