“And First, There Was The Drum”

As an African-centered organization, ABPsi has historically integrated elements of African culture into conference proceedings.  In the recent 51st International Convention, an unprecedented Mbongi panel took a deep dive beyond the typical use of African drum and dance as ritual and entertainment.  Through a diverse and distinguished panel of scholars, healers and practitioners, traditional West African drum and dance were explored as artistic and political instruments of healing, liberation and sovereignty.  As coordinator, my intention was to sharpen the lens around the origin, history and cultural values of this sacred art form handed down to us from our collective ancestors and preserved for thousands of years throughout the African diaspora.  With the expertise of Dr. Mark Bolden (moderator/MC), attendees were taken on a didactic and experiential journey, in which they experienced up close and personal the power of African rhythms through drum and dance.  Practical applications to community-based interventions were also discussed. Honoring the convention theme of "Afrikan Psychology and Afrifuturism," our Mbongi culminated with a cutting-edge intersection of art and science through a live biofeedback demonstration using traditional African drumming.  

            The Mbongi panel was inspired by a question that we must always grapple with as a people and organization: “What is at the core of our survival, future development, liberation and sovereignty as African people?”  We proposed that philosophically, it is a Pan-Africanist ideology that uses principles of unity and political/economic self-determination in the promotion of African interests throughout the Diaspora, and a decolonization agenda that repairs the African psyche.  Yet, our ancestors have taught us that this is not merely a matter of advancing a political movement. We must reclaim the African aesthetic. It is through African art forms that our ancestors have transmitted intergenerationally the rhythms, symbols, styles, and forms that house our collective values, mores, wisdom, and cultural histories.  It is the African aesthetic that has historically functioned as the keeper of traditions for our power as African people.

Under this premise, our Mbongi presented traditional African drum and dance as powerful artistic and political instruments advancing Pan-Africanist and decolonization agenda.  In essence, traditional African drum and dance function as the natural “vibranium” used to construct Afrifuturism, Psychological Liberation, Spiritual Illumination, and worldwide African sovereignty.  The Mbongi panelists delineated specific qualities and aspects of select African drum and dance traditions along with the concepts so that it could be fully appreciated and utilized as a pathway for reclaiming ancestral wisdom within the process of healing, empowerment and problem solving in modern day African Diasporic communities.  We explored why reclaiming the African aesthetic is essential to developing and sustaining African human wellness, and practical applications of traditional African drum and dance within the person, family, community, and ABPsi organization. 

As a Master drummer, who is both a performing and teaching artist, I have intensely studied traditional West African drumming for over two decades and been trained by numerous keepers of the sacred drum culture from continental Africa.  The Mbongi offered an opportunity to share some of the African wisdom I have gained.  Perhaps the most important teaching is that traditional African drums are not merely an instrument of music.  Drums are sacred instruments for the intergenerational transmission of culture, traditional knowledge, and ancestral wisdom.  Although I am well-versed in over 10 traditional African drums and over 60 rhythms, I chose to discuss and play the Djembe drum for the purposes of our Mbongi.

The Djembe drum originated in Mali by the Numu or Blacksmith Mandinka (Malinke) people of the Bambara ethnic group.  It's played in Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana, and Gambia.  The word “Djembe” means "come together" (Diallo and Hall, 1999). This drum is viewed as the most noted instrument in West Africa dating back to 500 A.D.  There are over 300 rhythms played by this drum.  Moreover, it's considered to be the “first telephone” played for ceremonies, rites of passage for ceremonies, rites of passage, ancestral worship, warrior passage, ancestral worship, warrior rituals, social gatherings, & healing, celebrations, full moon, harvest season, and baby naming ceremony just to name a few (Amegago, 2014).

Historically, drums are used in traditional African societies not only for aesthetic expression, social dances, entertainment, and celebration, but as sacred instruments of communication and the intergenerational transmission of culture. I addressed the historical challenge of enslaved Africans being forbidden from playing and keeping drums, and the reverberating affects throughout the Diaspora over hundreds of years. This tool of oppression consequentially damaged the African psyche, as drum rhythms echoed tones of speech, chants, and dances which represented what it fundamentally meant to be African --- their core beliefs, values, languages, emotions, folklore and cultural history (Amegago, 2014).

I opened the Mbongi with a libation and meditation exercise using an African rhythm that gives spiritual homage to our forefathers and foremothers.  There are over 300 rhythms transmitting specific values and cultural knowledge.  The significance of hand placement on the drum was demonstrated to produce sounds of base, tone, and slap. I shared didactically and experientially how drums can “talk”, carrying encoded messages for cultural survival, and illuminated how African drums and rhythms are seen as male and female.  This duality of African gender music survives in the United States and brings a greater purpose to its healing, liberation, and sovereign abilities.  I also discussed how traditional African drums are sacred instruments for healing ceremonies, ancestral worship rites of passage, and war preparation, which we have a responsibility to reclaim as African Diasporic people on our journey for spiritual illumination, liberation, and sovereignty.  

Finally, I offered practical applications for utilizing traditional African drumming for restoring the African mind-set / overall psychological well-being of African Diasporic people on an individual, communal, and institutional (ABPsi) level.  It is my hope that attendees stepped away with a deeper understanding of the significant role that the drum plays within traditional African culture.  Additionally, I proposed that ABPsi incorporate African drum classes and dance classes, as well as African-based movement/exercise classes to live drumming at future conventions.

References

Amegago, M. (2014). African drumming: The history and continuity of African drumming traditions. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.

Diallo, Y. & Mitchell, H. (1989). The healing drum: African wisdom teaching. Rochester, Vermont: Destiny Books.

Wilson, S. (1992). The Drummer’s path: Moving the spirit with ritual and traditional drumming. Rochester, Vermont: Destiny Books.