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 tools originates in the bottomless depths of centuries. The 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 Christ.
Percussion musical instrument
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 followers - a membrane was stretched over a hollow resonator body, a hit on which with a hand or stick extracts resonating sound.
The use of ethnic drums by different peoples has a deep symbolic meaning and each of them preserves the rich traditions of its owners.
Drums: An Early History
Before the drums appeared, a person probably beat the rhythm on rocks or fallen trees. Ethnic drums of Mesopotamia are considered one of the oldest, in particular, in the Babylonian and Sumerian empires, which were made of animal skin stretched on a hollow base. In the Middle East, the drum was revered as a tool to call Inannu, the goddess of love and fertility, 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.
Over time, ancient people began to use certain types of wood for their manufacture, and spruce was one of the revered and expensive. The largest drum was four meters in diameter and hung on poles supported by several men.
West Africa talking drums
Meanwhile, various types of "talking drums" were created in West Africa, which could be used to imitate human speech in terms of tone and rhythm. The drums of Africa, "speaking" in human voices, are one of the wonders of the Black Continent that cannot be forgotten. These instruments usually had the form of an hourglass with leather stretched at both ends.
The earliest examples relate to the empire of Ghana of the seventh century BC. African drums "talk" by creating tones that match the words, and they have been successfully used to transmit information over fairly long distances. The folk tradition of one of the West African tribes reads, "At first, the Creator made the Drummer, Hunter and Blacksmith." Drummers were considered important persons and were often relieved of other duties. Without a drum, it was impossible to imagine any important event taking place in the tribes, but there could not be done without blood. In those days, it was believed that the drum would not be able to speak properly until it heard a man’s voice in dying agony, and for this they were sprinkled with the blood of human victims.
Native American Music
To uncover the topic, an example of the use of drums in Native American ethnic music is interesting, which plays a vital role in history and education with ceremonies that verbally pass on the traditions of ancestors to new generations. Traditionally, it is believed that music has a divine origin, and the first mention is dated to the 7th century. Drums often represent the heartbeat, whether it is the heartbeat of a person, animal or even the Earth in the form of a mother. They accompanied for a long time dances and songs through which the Indians communicated with the plant and natural world, and also expressed their love and reverence.
To create ethnic drums, various available materials were used. In the forest areas, logs were used as the basis, in the south-west this role was played by ceramics. The hollow part of the instrument was fitted with animal skin. One person played small instruments, 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 it was forbidden to use alcohol next to them. Some drums were considered living creatures, and much attention and care were given to their creation and decoration, and for many instruments their lives ended with the death of their owners. Playing ethnic drums is very symbolic for the indigenous people of the United States, Canada and Mexico, and their magical sounds, alluring with mystery and understatement, still captivate the audience.
Ethnic drums nowadays
Today, thousands of years after its first use, they remain one of the integral parts of modern music and culture, despite the advent of electronic and computer tools.
Ethnic music and drums - bongos, djembe, darbuka, tom-toms - we can say that today they receive their second birth, because they convey the rhythm of the soul, human nature and are a wonderful way of self-expression and relaxation, which is so lacking for people in difficult the rhythm of modern life. Their mysterious sounds allow forgetting about vanity and problems for a while, will be charged with a powerful stream of energy, absorbing new sensations and conditions.