Drums and Drumming

In a primary sense, a sub-saharan drum may be defined as a vibrating membrane fastened across the mouth of a cylindrical body caved out of a solid tree-trunk. Striking the membrane with a stick or hand sets up a vibration that is reinforced by the air column within the hollowed solid tree-trunk.

In a sub-saharan understanding, a drum is a super projection of the human voice. In this view, the role and power of the drum in play embodies the sub-saharan concept of combining natural forces of the universe in forming the supernaturals. In the composition of this conscious experience, human force is combined with other natural forces - skin of animal, hollowed solid tree-trunk, etc. - as a medium in arousing the attention and reaction of mankind. In a variety of tonal properties - pitch, timbre, intensity, and intricate rhythms - the drum and the drummer, in mutual cooperation, create patterns of consciousness that give a moment of inspiration to those they touch.

Among the Anlo-Ewe of southeastern Ghana, a legendary metaphor, "ela kuku dea 'gbe wu la gbagbe" which means, "a dead animal screams louder than a live one," is commonly used to explain the human experience that inspired the origin of the drum. A human being has a tendency to attract a lot more attention when dead than when alive. So when the need came to communicate louder, a super voice surrogate was built out of a skin of a dead animal that could deliver the message louder and clearer.