Why every second drummer in Poland plays djembe?
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In recent years in Poland one may notice some kind of musical phenomenon. Increasing number of young, most recently not only young, people become interested in playing African drums. It is certainly related to the fashionable and overused notion of „new age”. But is it all to that? What is the major reason of interest in „mystical play” which includes playing African drums? What makes people reach for something that should be virtually unknown due to the distance? One frequently use the word „trance”, not only to describe music. I believe that it’s not fashion, but if so, it’s good that also SUCH fashion came here. Because, in my opinion, it’s a kind of fashion related to „one’s own roots”. Not exploring the subject of influence of drumming on human psyche too much it’s worth noting that playing African drums is not only a fashion for African music. It’s more about freeing the willingness to „play mystically”. Such play not only fills music with a rhythm but also relaxes, removes stress and enables escaping reality. Drums, regardless of its shape, for a long time has been a mean to travel to „another world”. One can say it was a „toy of shamans”. It brings us to the subject of shamanism. Shamanism was born in prehistoric times. What was it? Mainly a tradition. To be precise: it was an old practice that used alternate state of mind to contact with gods and ghosts of the nature. When we think about shamanism we see a mysterious magician, a person who enters altered state of mind and can pass universal truths to people. In order to understand the true character of shamanism, one should learn about the earliest manifestations of human’s religiosity, from which shaman’s beliefs and practices were originated. The earliest signs of human’s religious awareness were discovered around prehistoric caves in Europe and Middle Asia. Considering the findings, scientists believe that even Neanderthals might have believed in world in which ghosts live in animals, rocks, trees and tried to imagine life after death. The period of Upper Paleozoic is believed to the time when human’s religiousness as been starting to take form. Cave paintings show warrior-shaman, armed with a bow and dressed like buffalo among other animals, or a shaman that wears hat with horns in order to trick his victims. It seems that for a long time religion, magic and arts have been closely related to each other. Shaman could have been a master of animals - thanks to hunting magic he could control their fate. He learned to imitate them, and copied their moves by dancing. He was connected mentally with animals. As I mentioned drum was an item that helped shaman in his travels to this part of universe where he could communicate in the language of nature. Beating drums and dancing he entered a trance (spirit of shaman travelled various planes, unknown to normal human beings. He could enter bodies of humans, animals and items). Iconographic evidence prove that drums existed at least 4000 years ago in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Only few of them survived as they were build of very impermanent materials. As time passed drums have evolved, changed shapes as well as purpose. African drums, unlike others, have remained in unchanged form, which is why their mystical, primary sound attracts so many people. Playing drums was not alien also in culture of our land. The oldest drums found in Poland (like those from Pikutkowo near Wloclawek and Opatowice near Radziejów Kujawski and Dankowice near Dzierzoniów) were created in Neolithic era. They are made of clay and belong to the group of cup drums, the same as African djembe. One may assume that playing djembe is not culturally alien to us, which may be heard in play of many drummers fascinated with that instrument. Rhythm is basic feature of every man… Therefore we may forget about 'rabid young Poles who are totally crazy about Africa'. Africa is a good example of keeping its own traditions. We should follow it. |
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Cup Neolithic drums found in:        
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