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| Melissa Cook "What an honor it was for me to share and play music with you, Melissa. Now here you are learning from another tradition. Good for you. Good for the world." -Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 9.5.12 |
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| Melissa Cook i n 2012 |
Showing posts with label DRUM africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DRUM africa. Show all posts
Sunday, March 3, 2013
a Drummer I know: MELISSA COOK
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
GARIFUNA
November 1997 the Black Carib culture known, as the Garifuna were reminded of their ancestors' resilient struggle to overcome the brutal racism put forth by the European settlers in the New World. This day marked the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the Garifuna on the shores of Central America after being forcibly removed by the British from the island of St. Vincent located in the Caribbean. Though this culpable relocation of their entire culture by the British was meant to circumscribe the Garifuna, they have survived like members of their ancestry did when they were enslaved and brought from Africa during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
Today the Garifuna populations can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and many have migrated to the United States. The Garifuna, also known as the Garinagu, are direct descendants of the "Island Caribs" and a group of African slaves who escaped two ship-wrecked Spanish slave ships near St. Vincent in 1635(Garinagu Early History, 1).
The Island Caribs were descendants of South American Indians known as Arawaks and another group, the Caribs, who migrated from South America to the Caribbean at a later date. Through the admixture of these cultures as well as the influence of European settlers in the Americas, the Garifuna obtained a diverse culture that incorporates African traditions of music, dance, religious rites, and ceremonies; Native American cultivation, hunting, and fishing techniques; and a French and Arawak influenced language.
The Garifuna culture displays many influences of its African heritage, and this is extremely evident when comparing their music with the indigenous music of the African societies from which their ancestors originated. According to one source, "most of the slaves brought to the Caribbean were taken from the Niger and cross Delta regions in the Blight of Benin (present-day Nigeria) in West Africa, and from further south in the Congo and Angola"(A History of Belize 5th chapter, 1).
Much like the music of these areas, the Garifuna style of music relies heavily on call and response patterns. These patterns are less overlapping than many traditional ones found in Africa, but none the less the Garifunas' "leader/chorus organization" is very consistent with those of African styles (Franzone 1995,294).
In addition, the importance of the drum in Garifuna music is another similarity to their African influence. Garifuna music relies heavily on the drum, and in many instances their music is dictated by it. Often times a particular drum style will call for two drummers (except for sacred music, which usually uses three). Typically, one drummer will play a fixed, consistent pattern. This drummer is usually called the segunda player.
Another more intricate part made up of cross-patterns is normally played by the primero player (S.Cayetano, 1). The drums of the Garifuna are usually made of hardwoods that are uniformly shaped and carved out in the centers. The ends of the drums, whether it be one or two, are covered with skins from the peccary, deer, or sheep (S.Cayetano, 1).
These drums are always played with the hands, and some drummers have been known to wrap metal wires around the drumheads to give them a snare-like sound. Some musicians accompany the drums with gourd shakers called sisira, and even instruments like the guitar, flute, and violin have been adopted from early French, English, and Spanish folk music, as well as, Jamaican and Haitian Afro-Caribbean styles (S.Cayetano, 1).
In accompaniment to their music traditions lie the Garifuna songs and dance styles, which are an integral part of their culture. These songs and dance styles that are performed by the Garifuna display a wide range of subjects like work songs, social dances, and ancestral traditions. Some of the work songs include the Eremwu Eu, which is sung by the women as they prepare to make cassava bread, and the Laremuna Wadauman, a song men regularly sing when collectively working together (S.Cayetano, 2).
As for songs and dances in the social context, pieces like the Gunchei are quite customary. In this dance style the men take turns dancing with each woman. Another very popular dance style performed by the Garifuna is called the punta. According to one Garifuna author this style is, " the most popular dance performed at wakes, holidays, parties, and other social events"(S.Cayetano, 2).
It consists of different couples attempting to dance more stylistically and seductively with hip movements than their other competitors. While most of these songs and dances is more modern in origin, the Garifuna still maintain many traditional pieces. One of the most famous of these is called the Wanaragua.
This dance, which is also known as the John Canoe, is a dance that originated in times of slavery and is performed around Christmas time. The participants will dress up in white masks and venture from house to house in order to receive food and drinks from that household. The dance is said to have been started by both the Creole and Garifuna during encounters at mahogany camps where they were forced to work, and the intent was to mock their white slave owners (Palacio 1993,14). Other traditional dances are defined as: "the Charikawi- a mimed dance where a hunter meets up with a cave man and a cow, and the Chumba-a highly poly-rhythmic song, danced by soloists with great individualized style"(S. Cayetano, 2).
While many of the song and dance styles mentioned above are uniquely Garifuna based, none of them emit the echoing tidal wave of African ancestry like Garifuna ancestral rites and ceremonies do. There are traditionally three main ancestral rites portrayed by the Garifuna.
They are defined as: "1. The Amuyadahani- bathing the spirit of the dead
2. The Chuga- feeding of the dead, and 3. The Dugu- the feasting of the dead"(S. Cayetano & F.Cayetano 1984,1). The Garifuna perform these rites because like many African societies they believe that spirits of their ancestors, which are both good and evil have direct impact on the lives of people in the living world.
One author confirms this when she says, "Instances of natural death are prepared for. However, sudden or untimely deaths suggest the influence of evil human or spiritual factors, and much care is taken to prevent the restless spirit of these deceased from returning to bother the living"(Franzone 1995,152). When this unexpected death occurs it is announced to the rest of the community by wailing women who go door to door with the sound of drums (Franzone 1995,152). It is for this reason that the Garifuna take great care in providing for their dead ancestors the three ancestral rites, the most extravagant one tends to be the Dugu.
Since it is recognized that the Garifuna are meshed together with influences from many different cultures; it is also possibly in some degree to begin to separate parts of their culture to determine their roots. One example of this is their Amerindian influences of the Arawaks and Caribs collectively known as the Island Caribs. When the African slaves intermixed with the Island Caribs they brought into the culture many African based influences that have been previously discussed. However, in order to better understand whom the Garifuna are it becomes necessary to relate other adopted characteristics of their culture to they're other major ancestral influence, the Island Caribs. This Island Carib culture was one that was founded on yucca and cassava farming as well as hunting and fishing sometime before 1000AD(Garinagu Early History, 1). It is quite amazing then that the Garifuna women are still widely known for their tradition of making cassava bread (Palacio 1993,1-3). In addition, the Garifuna men have always been known for their maritime skills since they were mainly away hunting and fishing from various islands throughout the Caribbean and Central America (Global Neighbors: Garifuna History, 1). It is not hard to understand then why the Garifuna are both a matrilocal This means that the women are at the center of the household and descendants trace their bloodline through their mother's family. According to one author, "The women are very actively a part of the Garifuna social culture and are known for their leadership ability and articulate speech"(Global Neighbors: Garifuna History, 1). Therefore, while the women are the farmers in which they grow mostly cassava, they are also major role models and figureheads for the young children (Global Neighbors: Garifuna History, 1).
Another influence that the Garifuna had in their defining lines of their culture was the obvious influence of the French during the beginning stages of colonial development in the New World. It was during this time that French missionaries were exploring the region of the Caribbean and teaching the Island Caribs many words of their native tongue, including the use of French numbers and counting systems. Certain expressions were than fused with the Arawak language that the Island Caribs were speaking. This created the Garifuna language that can still be heard counting in French today (Global Neighbors: Garifuna history, 1).
All of these things combined have provided a brief understanding of who the Garifuna are, and where they come from. Furthermore, it has become apparent through reference points to other cultures and more in-depth studies of the Garifuna that their roots were cultivated in many places around the globe. For example, the traditions of their music dance, religious rites, and rituals are all very much seeded in their link to their African ancestry. While the Garinagu forms of subsistence, on the other hand, are more associated with their Island Carib ancestors. Even the European settlers of the New World had a very profound effect on the development of the Garifuna culture. The same culture that is characterized by the blending of distant pieces of worldly influences, driven by the human intuition to survive, and fueled by the desire for freedom.
REFERENCES CITED
1) Palacio, Myrtle 1993 The First Primer On The People Called Garifuni . Glessima Research & Services
2) Franzone, Dorothy 1995 A Critical and Cultural Analysis of an African People in the
Americas: Africanisms in the Garifuna Culture of Belize. UMI Dissertation Services (151-152).
3) Global Neighbors: Garifuna History. Garifuna World [On-line],
Available: http://www.garifuna-world.com/
4) Garinagu Early History. Garifuna World [On-line], Available:
http://www.garifuna-world.com/world.com
5) Cayetano, Sebastian, (1997). Garifuna Music. Garifuna World [On-line],
Available: http://www.garifuna-world.com/
6) Cayetano, Sebastian; Cayetano, Fabian (September 30, 1984). Dugu. Garifuna
World [On-line], Available: http://www.garifuna-world.com/
7) The History of Belize (Chapters 4&5). [On-line], Available: Garifuna-world.com
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Today the Garifuna populations can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and many have migrated to the United States. The Garifuna, also known as the Garinagu, are direct descendants of the "Island Caribs" and a group of African slaves who escaped two ship-wrecked Spanish slave ships near St. Vincent in 1635(Garinagu Early History, 1).
The Island Caribs were descendants of South American Indians known as Arawaks and another group, the Caribs, who migrated from South America to the Caribbean at a later date. Through the admixture of these cultures as well as the influence of European settlers in the Americas, the Garifuna obtained a diverse culture that incorporates African traditions of music, dance, religious rites, and ceremonies; Native American cultivation, hunting, and fishing techniques; and a French and Arawak influenced language.
The Garifuna culture displays many influences of its African heritage, and this is extremely evident when comparing their music with the indigenous music of the African societies from which their ancestors originated. According to one source, "most of the slaves brought to the Caribbean were taken from the Niger and cross Delta regions in the Blight of Benin (present-day Nigeria) in West Africa, and from further south in the Congo and Angola"(A History of Belize 5th chapter, 1).
Much like the music of these areas, the Garifuna style of music relies heavily on call and response patterns. These patterns are less overlapping than many traditional ones found in Africa, but none the less the Garifunas' "leader/chorus organization" is very consistent with those of African styles (Franzone 1995,294).
In addition, the importance of the drum in Garifuna music is another similarity to their African influence. Garifuna music relies heavily on the drum, and in many instances their music is dictated by it. Often times a particular drum style will call for two drummers (except for sacred music, which usually uses three). Typically, one drummer will play a fixed, consistent pattern. This drummer is usually called the segunda player.
Another more intricate part made up of cross-patterns is normally played by the primero player (S.Cayetano, 1). The drums of the Garifuna are usually made of hardwoods that are uniformly shaped and carved out in the centers. The ends of the drums, whether it be one or two, are covered with skins from the peccary, deer, or sheep (S.Cayetano, 1).
These drums are always played with the hands, and some drummers have been known to wrap metal wires around the drumheads to give them a snare-like sound. Some musicians accompany the drums with gourd shakers called sisira, and even instruments like the guitar, flute, and violin have been adopted from early French, English, and Spanish folk music, as well as, Jamaican and Haitian Afro-Caribbean styles (S.Cayetano, 1).
In accompaniment to their music traditions lie the Garifuna songs and dance styles, which are an integral part of their culture. These songs and dance styles that are performed by the Garifuna display a wide range of subjects like work songs, social dances, and ancestral traditions. Some of the work songs include the Eremwu Eu, which is sung by the women as they prepare to make cassava bread, and the Laremuna Wadauman, a song men regularly sing when collectively working together (S.Cayetano, 2).
As for songs and dances in the social context, pieces like the Gunchei are quite customary. In this dance style the men take turns dancing with each woman. Another very popular dance style performed by the Garifuna is called the punta. According to one Garifuna author this style is, " the most popular dance performed at wakes, holidays, parties, and other social events"(S.Cayetano, 2).
It consists of different couples attempting to dance more stylistically and seductively with hip movements than their other competitors. While most of these songs and dances is more modern in origin, the Garifuna still maintain many traditional pieces. One of the most famous of these is called the Wanaragua.
This dance, which is also known as the John Canoe, is a dance that originated in times of slavery and is performed around Christmas time. The participants will dress up in white masks and venture from house to house in order to receive food and drinks from that household. The dance is said to have been started by both the Creole and Garifuna during encounters at mahogany camps where they were forced to work, and the intent was to mock their white slave owners (Palacio 1993,14). Other traditional dances are defined as: "the Charikawi- a mimed dance where a hunter meets up with a cave man and a cow, and the Chumba-a highly poly-rhythmic song, danced by soloists with great individualized style"(S. Cayetano, 2).
While many of the song and dance styles mentioned above are uniquely Garifuna based, none of them emit the echoing tidal wave of African ancestry like Garifuna ancestral rites and ceremonies do. There are traditionally three main ancestral rites portrayed by the Garifuna.
They are defined as: "1. The Amuyadahani- bathing the spirit of the dead
2. The Chuga- feeding of the dead, and 3. The Dugu- the feasting of the dead"(S. Cayetano & F.Cayetano 1984,1). The Garifuna perform these rites because like many African societies they believe that spirits of their ancestors, which are both good and evil have direct impact on the lives of people in the living world.
One author confirms this when she says, "Instances of natural death are prepared for. However, sudden or untimely deaths suggest the influence of evil human or spiritual factors, and much care is taken to prevent the restless spirit of these deceased from returning to bother the living"(Franzone 1995,152). When this unexpected death occurs it is announced to the rest of the community by wailing women who go door to door with the sound of drums (Franzone 1995,152). It is for this reason that the Garifuna take great care in providing for their dead ancestors the three ancestral rites, the most extravagant one tends to be the Dugu.
Since it is recognized that the Garifuna are meshed together with influences from many different cultures; it is also possibly in some degree to begin to separate parts of their culture to determine their roots. One example of this is their Amerindian influences of the Arawaks and Caribs collectively known as the Island Caribs. When the African slaves intermixed with the Island Caribs they brought into the culture many African based influences that have been previously discussed. However, in order to better understand whom the Garifuna are it becomes necessary to relate other adopted characteristics of their culture to they're other major ancestral influence, the Island Caribs. This Island Carib culture was one that was founded on yucca and cassava farming as well as hunting and fishing sometime before 1000AD(Garinagu Early History, 1). It is quite amazing then that the Garifuna women are still widely known for their tradition of making cassava bread (Palacio 1993,1-3). In addition, the Garifuna men have always been known for their maritime skills since they were mainly away hunting and fishing from various islands throughout the Caribbean and Central America (Global Neighbors: Garifuna History, 1). It is not hard to understand then why the Garifuna are both a matrilocal This means that the women are at the center of the household and descendants trace their bloodline through their mother's family. According to one author, "The women are very actively a part of the Garifuna social culture and are known for their leadership ability and articulate speech"(Global Neighbors: Garifuna History, 1). Therefore, while the women are the farmers in which they grow mostly cassava, they are also major role models and figureheads for the young children (Global Neighbors: Garifuna History, 1).
Another influence that the Garifuna had in their defining lines of their culture was the obvious influence of the French during the beginning stages of colonial development in the New World. It was during this time that French missionaries were exploring the region of the Caribbean and teaching the Island Caribs many words of their native tongue, including the use of French numbers and counting systems. Certain expressions were than fused with the Arawak language that the Island Caribs were speaking. This created the Garifuna language that can still be heard counting in French today (Global Neighbors: Garifuna history, 1).
All of these things combined have provided a brief understanding of who the Garifuna are, and where they come from. Furthermore, it has become apparent through reference points to other cultures and more in-depth studies of the Garifuna that their roots were cultivated in many places around the globe. For example, the traditions of their music dance, religious rites, and rituals are all very much seeded in their link to their African ancestry. While the Garinagu forms of subsistence, on the other hand, are more associated with their Island Carib ancestors. Even the European settlers of the New World had a very profound effect on the development of the Garifuna culture. The same culture that is characterized by the blending of distant pieces of worldly influences, driven by the human intuition to survive, and fueled by the desire for freedom.
REFERENCES CITED
1) Palacio, Myrtle 1993 The First Primer On The People Called Garifuni . Glessima Research & Services
2) Franzone, Dorothy 1995 A Critical and Cultural Analysis of an African People in the
Americas: Africanisms in the Garifuna Culture of Belize. UMI Dissertation Services (151-152).
3) Global Neighbors: Garifuna History. Garifuna World [On-line],
Available: http://www.garifuna-world.com/
4) Garinagu Early History. Garifuna World [On-line], Available:
http://www.garifuna-world.com/world.com
5) Cayetano, Sebastian, (1997). Garifuna Music. Garifuna World [On-line],
Available: http://www.garifuna-world.com/
6) Cayetano, Sebastian; Cayetano, Fabian (September 30, 1984). Dugu. Garifuna
World [On-line], Available: http://www.garifuna-world.com/
7) The History of Belize (Chapters 4&5). [On-line], Available: Garifuna-world.com
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Sunday, November 15, 2009
AFRICAN SHAME & DENIAL 2
“There is a soul sickness in the halls of lawmakers. Healers and musicians, and storytellers can shift consciousness in ways that political posturing cannot. But because the deep introspective work required to change these paradigms we complain about is not part of the American curriculum we are destined to repeat the pattern over again.
In respect to the Negro National Anthem it does not come as a surprise to me. I have painfully discovered, and eventually accepted some fundamental things about African Americans. One glaring, and persistent characteristic of Black Americans is our tradition of self-loathing. It is so deep. Africans, from home, whisper about it. In fact, if I speak in French to Africans about this tendency among Black folks I get honest answers. Africans have their weird wacked out stuff, but ours is ours. We own it and boast about it.
The last time, as a young man, I returned to the States from Morocco I created the percussion chair in a large Pentecostal church, Free Gospel Church of Christ, in Maryland. It was there through the drum this ‘negro paradigm’ rose its ugly head. The way it came up needs more space and time than we have for this sharing, but the root of our self-loathing comes from the church. We stopped short of becoming a free people when the Civil Rights movement ended because we don’t have the courage to search our churches for the root of our tragedies, misconceptions about power, belief-system, or freedom, and hold fast, we do, to the conviction that slave owners and missionaries gave us a religion to free us.
It is frightening to do this kind of spiritual work. I know from personal experience. But without it we, as a people, will never garner the respect we think we deserve for the simplest of reasons. Our fight for freedom ended when the law allowed us to do what white folks did, and let us eat, and work with them. That is all we negotiated for, it seems, in retrospect. That simple approach to our own growth will never permit us to be the kind of people you obviously ache to see, and be a part of. We cannot see that this is the work we should be doing: unlearning what we know, defining power, and negotiating with power with the Powers.
Our truth is hard to say aloud, but we do it anyway. We like being ‘niggers’ for some reasons.” – Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
In respect to the Negro National Anthem it does not come as a surprise to me. I have painfully discovered, and eventually accepted some fundamental things about African Americans. One glaring, and persistent characteristic of Black Americans is our tradition of self-loathing. It is so deep. Africans, from home, whisper about it. In fact, if I speak in French to Africans about this tendency among Black folks I get honest answers. Africans have their weird wacked out stuff, but ours is ours. We own it and boast about it.
The last time, as a young man, I returned to the States from Morocco I created the percussion chair in a large Pentecostal church, Free Gospel Church of Christ, in Maryland. It was there through the drum this ‘negro paradigm’ rose its ugly head. The way it came up needs more space and time than we have for this sharing, but the root of our self-loathing comes from the church. We stopped short of becoming a free people when the Civil Rights movement ended because we don’t have the courage to search our churches for the root of our tragedies, misconceptions about power, belief-system, or freedom, and hold fast, we do, to the conviction that slave owners and missionaries gave us a religion to free us.
It is frightening to do this kind of spiritual work. I know from personal experience. But without it we, as a people, will never garner the respect we think we deserve for the simplest of reasons. Our fight for freedom ended when the law allowed us to do what white folks did, and let us eat, and work with them. That is all we negotiated for, it seems, in retrospect. That simple approach to our own growth will never permit us to be the kind of people you obviously ache to see, and be a part of. We cannot see that this is the work we should be doing: unlearning what we know, defining power, and negotiating with power with the Powers.
Our truth is hard to say aloud, but we do it anyway. We like being ‘niggers’ for some reasons.” – Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
Thursday, October 1, 2009
DRUMMING IS THE BREATH OF ME
“Drumming is breath to me. Nothing quite as powerful as being a conduit for energies, ancestors, rhythms, and songs while playing the drums.”
- Gregory E.Woods Keeper of the Drums 2008
When I first started playing professionally I was living in Rabat, Morocco. My first gig was with the legendary blues man, Mickey Baker. I did two shows in Rabat and Casablanca. It was incredible and frightening. His only command was "Play. Whatever you do don't stop playing. Just play!" Somewhere during the next two hours he suddenly signaled a dramatic pause and I stopped with the group. He yelled out, "Play. Play." The audience broke out laughing and applauding. I played my heart out to thunderous applause. Later in Casablanca we put on a good show and got paid with money!
I learned the importance of one drum soon afterwards. I can play three congas and a pair of bongos at one time when necessary and the music ask for it. But pulling sound out of one drum and moving both the band and the audience is, simply put, an act of power. It is a dance with powers and it consumes me with colors and dreams in the forms that dream-people appear to me when summoned by the spirit of my drum.
One day, we are still in Morocco, someone from the American Embassy asked me to put together musicians to perform with Randy Weston. Randy Weston is a powerful, rather intimidating man and musician. He was, then, living and traveling throughout North and West Africa learning traditional music and rhythms and blending those rhythms and songs with blues and jazz. His music then and now is something many have never experienced and need to experience for the enrichment of soul and the touch of another realm of existence. In his music the past, the present, the future join with the Mother Land and her offspring in an embrace that taps the souls of the one and the many.
I was afraid to tell him I played the drums. I gave him my bassist, Serge. Serge was a Haitian from Paris who had flown down to join my band a few months earlier. Randy Weston was on the acoustic piano. Someone else found a conga player. The one drummer they found was one of the percussionists from the Royal Moroccan Orchestra at the time. I had seen him before. In fact we had passed each other in the studio trading places in front of the camera a couple of weeks earlier. I had no idea he was such a deep musician until he performed with Randy Weston.
Moroccan music is beautiful, important and true to its progenitors and the living present of its people. Arabic music is like that. You cannot find love music with more depth and pathos like Arabic songs. If you are curious listen to Oum Kalhtoum (I think I spelled her name wrong) the best singer born into both Egypt and the Arab world.
Now here I am in the audience listening to this trio and I am rendered silent with tears streaming and my mouth agape in wonder. What happened between them and us was beyond words in the realm of magic, the mystery of exchange between souls and the magic of invention. The drummer sat on stage with one drum, a red conga drum, and played from the depths of the reddish brown and dark soil of Morocco, Benin, Nigeria and Ghana. It sounded like two; sometimes three drummers playing with him and the drums talked and sang to the piano and copulated with Serge’s acoustic bass lines!
I had brought a red cassette recorder into the auditorium. I recorded from the front row. I couldn't listen to it for months and I couldn't play my drums for a long time. I was numb with the innovations I witnessed and the lure of magic and the calls from Powers this one man pulled out of his drum that night. I was captured and initiated into a form of study that led me into the forests, the halls, and the empty spaces full of the knowledge of creating and birthing. That is the best I can describe from memory a pivotal moment in my life.
I have learned a great deal about the drum since then and have learned how to share from new and deeper levels from behind drums. I wish all of you could sit and be a part of one of my drum circles. You are beautiful souls. ~ Gregory E. Woods, Dawn wolf Keeper of Stories
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