by Berimbau » Sat May 28, 2005 3:10 pm
Mi Amigos,
A few observations on this thread.......I'm quessing that like myself, most of my fellow posters here are primarily congueros. I started playing congas in NYC in the late 1960's, when other than Ladji Camara, the djembe couldn't get arrested there. Since the 1980's, there has been an absolute explosion of djembe activity internationally, especially here in the U.S. I think that is because these drums are FAR easier for a novice to play than congas are, teachers and videos were finally available, djembes are also FAR more affordable to purchase than congas (Remo Inc. as well as cheap African imports), not to mention that African peoples from Mali and the surrounding cultural areas had a MUCH larger overall impact on the development of U.S. music than peoples from either the Kongo or Yoruba Kingdoms did. Today the Djembe has really impacted the music scene. Like many Congueros, I was also seduced into the world of djembe, and did the obligatory research on it (Charry's book, djembe videos, lessons with Mamady).
The Kongolese/Yoruba centric aspects of my own Djembe playing is pronounced and undeniable. Thirty five years of conga playing will do that. Yet the traditional techniques used on congas and djembes are quite different. I'm not too sure that congueros really make the BEST djembefolas anyway, even in spite of there years of hand drumming. Quite frankly, we congueros tend to bring in our own Afro-Cuban or Brasilian cultural baggage that is alien to the West African djembe traditions. I wonder what many top African teachers really think of there U.S. students? Especially expert congueros!!!!! But afterall, many of them Do derive a good income from teaching djembe at clinics, schools, circles, selling books, cds, videos, etc. Eric Charry rightfully notes that VITAL cultural information regarding associated rituals and dances were NOT necessarily transmitted during the U.S. djembe explosion. Because of the closer proximity and relationships between the U.S. and the Caribbean, or even Brasil, language and cultural barriers were quite a bit less. A competent ballroom dancer in Iowa could come up with at least a watered down version of La Conga, Samba, or Rumba, but never a ritual Malian harvest dance!!!
Now this post is not meant in any way to discourage anyone from investigating the djembe, it's just a cultural observation of really HOW different these two drumming worlds are and the cultural assumptions that many have. For the record I play both a tuable Remo djembe (practical here along the ultra humid Gulf Coast) as well as a Malian rope-tuned djembe ( a beatutiful sounding but a complete pain in the ass drum)!!)
My admission: I really do feel that the tumbadoras are the most versitile of hand drums, and I am not unhappy that the pendulum has swung back to favor them again. The elegance of Afro-Cuban culture makes for the richest ajiaco, con mucho sabor!!!
Saludos,
Berimbau
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