History of African Drums

Nobody knows for certain just how drums came into being or how the first drums looked or sounded. However, all known human cultures have included a musical element. It is believed by many that the human race began in Africa. And according to oral tradition, drums, drumming and the beginning of music began there, too, in the Congo - the heart of Africa.

The first and still most prevalent musical instrument was the human voice. Using our voices, we recreated the sounds, tones, and rhythms of our environment. Imitation of sound was the first impulse toward music; but sound and emotion needed to intertwine and resonate with one another for music to develop. Since early times, the art of music has been passed from one person to another, from one generation to another, and from one nation to another.

Historically, drumming has accompanied various modes of communication, including singing, dancing, and storytelling. In Western Africa, people used drums to send and receive spiritual messages, to communicate across great distances, to preserve an oral tradition, to stimulate healing, and to celebrate ritual events and the shift in seasons.

Specific rhythms and their associated dances continue to hold significant meaning in Africa. Even today drums accompany most ceremonies and social rituals - birth, puberty, marriage, ascension to power, death, and burial and many others. The drum is also played for entertainment, commonly accompanying dance, song, and poetry.

African slaves brought their drumming traditions to the new world, where African drum music evolved into new forms and practices, particularly in Cuba. By the twentieth century, African drum music and Afro-Cuban drumming had become key elements of popular world music.

Throughout history for those who drum - drumming has always been a special part of life - even today many people who drum regularly have found that using correct drumming techniques can relieve stress and tension throughout the entire body. Many have shared that for them, drumming is Meditation for the mind and Message and Reflexolgy for the body. Our focus will always be that everyone may find happiness through the regular practice of drumming.