Commentary on Native Drums THE CENTER OF FIRST LIGHT PAPERS IN THE SERIES UPON SHAMANIC PRACTICES. Turtle Heart February, 1986 Manhattan "...The drum itself, and by extension the family shaman who "sounds" it, becomes the very axis of power that reveals the universe to an otherwise isolated individual" (Grim, 1983) This file will present various levels of information concerning the drum. The drum is both a casual and an acute instrument of consciousness. Drum rhythms have been sounding ceaselessly in some form since the very beginning of human time. All of the practices enumerated in this shamanic file depend upon, call for, or in some manner are enhanced by the drum. The ancient, localized drum-maker followed rigorous parameters involving the source of any drum. Modern drummers have lost the thread of continuity which these ancient drummers felt were essential to the derivable effects of drumming. Simply going off on your own and making or (especially) purchasing a drum is in reality a very low end of the practice in drumming. It is not an effort without value, however, to obtain drums in the modern convenient manner. I mention it, for the differences between the two methods of obtaining drums makes a very real difference in both the kind of energy which can be produced and the effects of this energy. "The sound of the drum penetrates all layers of experience. " This simple statement is the basis and the reference point for understanding the practice of the drum. (SIBERIAN SHAMANISM) (GRIM-83) The manner in which the shaman evokes transformative power can be clearly seen in the account of the SAGAY shaman's drum. Kyzlasov related that it is not the shaman himself but the ancestral-spirit who chooses the kind of drum that a shaman will use. In addition, the ancestral-spirit also determines its size, the kind of wood used in its construction, the animal skin stretched across it, and the designs printed on it. These instructions are pronounced by elder tribal shamans. The interaction between the new shaman and established elder shamans provides some control over these individualistic religious personalities. After several preliminary rituals the drum is ceremonially brought to life. "Although the DRUM might be finished, it is still unusable, first it must be given to a small child to play with for a few days and then the so-called "reviving" ceremony must be performed. The shaman must look for the spirit of the animal which gave its skin to be stretched over the drum He must follow the path where the animal wandered, right back to its birthplace, because only there can its spirit be caught. After that the drum "comes to life"." Like most of the Siberian shamans' drums, this percussive instrument is a multivalent symbol for the Sagay. It simultaneously represents the shaman; the patient to be cured and the spirits who communicate the healing power. The ceremonial construction of the drum parallels the shamans' vision of initiation. Just as the shaman was boiled and "played" by the spirits, so a child ritually "plays" with the drum. Just as the patient's life history must be known to the shaman, so the spirit of the animal skin stretched across the drum must be traced through its life path. (Ed: this is also true for the wood of the frame!) His drum must resonate with this intimate knowledge. Kyzlasov continued: "When I got there, he {the ancestral-shaman}, measured my drum, its circumference, its length and its height. He counted the pendants hanging from it. When he was ready, he gave me the men. (The shamans call their spirits "men".) They are my friends. Sometimes they come upon me unexpectedly, then they disappear again. They are rather unstable. It is to them I owe my well-being, it is through them, that when I hold the pulse of a sick person, it becomes clear to me, what is wrong with him. Then I begin to shamanize." Like Kyzlasov himself, Kyzlasov's drum must be taken to the ancestral shaman for approval and then invested with spirits. The drum becomes the insistent voice of the accomplished shaman, who, on the one hand, has intercourse with powerful supernaturals, and, on the other, speaks of the ills and omens of his tribe. Thus in Sagay shamanism the "reviving" of the drum reenacts the transformative experience of shamanic healing. Just as the patient's original vigor is renewed, so also is the drum invested with its unique energy. This energy is also used by the shaman to aid his encounter with numinous spirits. When there is no patient to be cured, but an imbalance or loss is to be corrected, the shaman still seeks an encounter with the "wholly other". As Rudolf Otto wrote, "let us call the faculty, of whatever sort it might be, of genuinely cognizant and recognizing the holy in its appearances the faculty of divination." The shaman's function is not only to heal but also to evoke the power to discern the meaning of particular tribal events. The drum is used by the shaman at each of these healing or divinatory ceremonies. For the drum has a central role in creating the transformative mood for the patient and the shaman. The repetitive beat of the drum effects the passage into the numinous world. In discussing ceremonial events in which instruments are used to establish contact with the spirits, Rodney Needham observes: "What is it that these events have in common? Obviously that they are rites of passage. In other words, the class of noise makers is associated with the formal passage from one status or condition to another. Once again, though, I am not saying that such rites cannot be accomplished without percussive noise makers, or that only such devices are used to mark them, but simply that there is a constant and immediately recognizable association between the type of sound and the type of rite. What I am proposing, namely, is that there is a significant connection between percussion and transition. Through a rhythmic shamanic drumming, then, the shaman induces a trance state in which he begins to evoke transformative powers. The drum is both symbolic of the shaman's initial passage and the instrument of reenacting that rite of passage. (OJIBWAY SHAMANISM) (GRIM-83) The concept of the multi-layered earth is a recurring theme in Ojibwa shamanism. Through this symbol of the mysterious regions of the universe, the Ojibwa shaman structures his communication with manitou power. Communication with those regions is, in effect, a transmission of energy from the nominal to the phenomenal world. In the following selection from the mide shaman Hole-in-the-sky, the sound of the drum penetrates the many layers, symbolizing the shaman's own journey through the cosmic regions: "Then one sliver (drum) our Grandfather (Bear) took. Then, far, far above (from the bottom layer of the earth to the top, fourth layer of sky) he (the drum man) stretched himself, so that he reached the sky. Halfway up the Sky he spread four limbs (now the sliver had turned into a tree; Grandmother Cedar). To the ends of the Sky he spread his four limbs. Four holes did our Grandfather (Bear) make (through the drum) and said, "Here is where the Indian will state his wants." Four times he stretched his legs to the ends of the Earth: "From here (i.e., universally) they (manitou) will attend to the Indian's wants." The shaman's drum (representing the mythic cedar- tree?) becomes the cosmic axis that penetrates the mysterious regions and provides a path for the solicited healing power. The impact of these cosmological concepts is especially striking when one considers the archaic MEDA, or family shaman. The isolated Ojibwa band often depended on their family shaman to cure the sick, divine for the hunt, and generally meet all the pressing needs that were beyond an individual tribal person's own spiritual ability. The MEDA would sound the drum and, as the passage above indicates, open the way to the mysterious regions. THE DRUM ITSELF, AND BY EXTENSION THE FAMILY SHAMAN WHO 'SOUNDS' IT, BECOMES THE VERY AXIS OF POWER THAT REVEALS THE UNIVERSE TO AN OTHERWISE ISOLATED INDIVIDUAL. WINTERSTONE-86 ATTENDING THE DRUM, THERE ARE CERTAIN FIRM BELIEFS ALL TRIBAL ELDERS HAVE VOICED CONCERNING THE POSSESSION OF DRUM; THAT IS, TO KEEP THE VOICE OF THE DRUM ORIGINAL AND PURE, ALWAYS HOLDING THE BEAT, NEVER VARYING IT. On the surface, this consideration might seem odd. Each person who is the holder of a drum has a distinct style of striking it. The elders require that once you learn what this "style" is for YOU, that you learn to develop that rhythm, without variance, for the rest of your life. The first thing that happens with most modern people is that they begin playing all sorts of rhythms and think that holding self to a single rhythm is foolish. All I can offer you at this juncture is the observation that these many elders are NOT foolish and that there is a very good reason, indeed, for this consideration; for which the comments on Siberian drums are a very good example. The sacred nature of the drum should inspire a developed individual not to impress to strongly his/her own individual ego upon the drumming powers. By refining a "sacred rhythm" the drum-keeper learns how to hear what their own sacred drum is saying. Any strong imprint of the individual ego on this process, creates too much "noise", and the most important message is lost. I grant you this issue can be taken from several directions. I can only hope that you will give this matter some thought. By practicing the drum, you will learn the benefits of a sustained beat vs a varying beat. Each drum should have a story, some cycle of events. This idea is really the basis for all designs upon a drum. The story is really a very effective mnemonic device. Drums should have attached objects, items of instruction from previous teachers, items from dreams, items from helper associations (such as feathers of the birds friendly to you). These objects each should also have a story. The importance of these items and these designs extends beyond information for the brain in the usual intellectual sense. Objects and designs also give an opening into channels of receiving information through the eyes and fingers. A large part of the shamanic process of the drums involves the hands, wrist, and ears, and certainly the throat; but does not involve the brain in quite the same way as ordinary affairs. Expansion of the senses. This should always be kept in mind during drum exercises. (BLACK ELK, SIOUX---1953) "Since the drum is often the only instrument used in our sacred rites, I should perhaps tell you why it is especially sacred and important to us. It is because the round form of the drum represents the whole universe, and its steady strong beat is its pulse, the heart throbbing at the center of the universe. It is as the voice of Wakan-Tanka, and this sound stirs us and helps us to understand the mystery and power of all things. " Any drum which is acquired for a spiritual purpose must consider the nature of the materials, the spirit of the animals and plants involved. This is an intimate gesture, one which cannot be accomplished through intellectual means. (Updated 30 May 1992) Written by: Turtle Heart House of Song Dog N 21 Lon Webb Road Lilliwaup WA 98555