Djembes Music 7/8

Where and When? Though not proven, it is said that it came from Mali, West Africa in the 12 th century.

"Anke dje, anke be" “Calling people together” “everyone gather together” Dje= gather Be=everyone

“It is taught that the blacksmiths made the first djembes, The person would cut it down and the blacksmith would make each drum custom-fit to the drummer who would play it.” Traditionally, only those born into the djembe family would be allowed (or interested) to play. connections/history-of-the-djembe/

3 Spirits spirit of the tree the spirit of the animal whose skin is played the spirit of the carver or the one who cut the tree and the people who assemble the drum.

Rituals In performances, the djembe begins the ritual, followed by the singer and the other instruments. Brainstorm in groups, events throughout the year in which we celebrate and there is music:

Popularity It is only until as recently as the 1950’s, that the djembe has been know in other countries. European countries found the djembe before North America and it became more popular there. Now, Japan and China have risen to a country that has had a recent upswing in interest in djembe and traditional dance!

Hand Percussion Instruments: Krin A krin is made from a hollowed tree trunk and is played with two wooden sticks. They can be as large as 10 feet. Depending on where is it played,( sides or on the top at different lengths) it makes different sounds. It originated in Guinea and they believe it has sacred properties. It is traditonally used to send coded messages between villages dFGlkY

Axatse ? Gourd Rattles ɑː.h ɑː.tse ɪˌ /(a- hot-say)/ (SHEH-kuh-ray) This shaker is an instrument of the Ewe people, from Ghana. These gourds are hollowed out, dried out seeds are then weaved into the netting. It is played like a maraca, by gently tugging on the blue rope ends, by swirling or twisting the seed net, or with more intricate double handed techniques. Ud4Sb0

Sources Boston’s Djembe Drumming Community and Shop, October 20 th, 2015, connections/history-of-the-djembe/ connections/history-of-the-djembe/ Krin: Homemade Musical Instruments, January 30 th, 2016,