Kuimba: Music
Happy Drums (from the CD "Salimu! Heshimu!")
(Kuimba)
Music, Kris Bowerman, Lark Bowerman, John Waller
We often play this very typical north African beat on a set of drums made by the Abaluhyia people of Western Kenya. These drums, called Isukuti drums, are covered with Monitor Lizard skin, a not unusual choice of instrument making material in Africa. Tradition has it among many indigenous peoples that to play a drum covered with the hide of a certain creature is to summon the spirit of that animal. That is why sometimes we call this piece The Lizard’s Dance although in this case it would be The Goats Dance because we’ve played on Djembe drums with goat skin heads.
Personnel- John Waller, djembe; Kris Bowerman, djembe, cowbell; Lark Bowerman, kayamba, bullroarer