Magical Drumming

 There is something magical about watching people from different backgrounds come together and create beautiful music. Uniting cultures through drumming is just one of a myriad of ways drums help us become better people, more authentic and honest with one another than we might be otherwise. When it comes down to it, we are all pretty much the same and drumming, no matter the historical reference, helps us tap into that truth.

Attempts at uniting cultures through drumming have many benefits. The most important may be that these activities help remind people that we are more than our belief systems or where our ancestors come from. Drumming together reminds us that it is possible to rise above our differences and connect one human being to another. It also reflects our ability to find harmony amidst seeming chaos. When the drumming first begins, it may not sound like everyone will be able to connect but eventually the music created becomes hypnotic and provocative.

 Drums can mimic speech, issue battle orders, maintain rhythm in a jazz performance, or invite friends to gather. They can be made of natural or synthetic materials and take a form as simple as a hollowed-out log or as flashy as a glittery red snare in a 16-piece kit.

The drum is one of the oldest communication tools. It was used for two-way communication long before the advent of the telephone and sends an immediate message to anybody who can hear it.

For Indigenous people in present-day British Columbia, drums are more than communication tools and musical instruments; they are tools for a lifelong connection to and relationship with all living things and the Creator.

Many drum teachings by First Nations in BC use the circle to represent balance and equality, wholeness and connection. The circle is unbroken and made of equal, connected, and infinite points. The Creator is the center, around which all living things—including humans, sit. Each animal, plant, and human is the same distance from this center and has a unique and direct connection to it. The drum voices our connection to all creation when we drum and strengthens our connection to each other when we drum together.

Circular drums are made by stretching an animal hide over a wooden frame that can be small enough to fit in a child’s hand or large enough to seat a six-member host drum at powwow. There are also different traditions. For example, the Tsimshian and Kwakwaka’wakw also make and play box drums, which are rectangular.

The playing of the drum helps us listen to our soul so we can understand our purpose and our connection to each other in the Circle of Life. The drum is female and human. The big drum was a gift from the women to the men a very long time ago, so that men could experience a resonant connection to the Earth Mother that naturally occurs with women. This is why it has been a tribal custom (in most tribes) that women not sit at the drum or play it.

Is the Drum calling you?

 One of the few fundamental things we know about our universe is that everything in it is vibrating, is in motion and has rhythm, which is the true Mother Tongue that unites us all and which started with the Big Bang. We are cradled in a world of rhythm. When giant meteorites crash into the planet with sufficient force, the earth vibrates like a drum and shamans the world over know that the drum is “Great Spirit’s favourite instrument, which is why we are all given a heartbeat…”

The drum is the most ancient instrument in the world, dating back tens of thousands of years. It has been used within healing work, ritual & ceremony, rites of passage, divination, celebration and for moving between the worlds. More than any other instrument, it gives us a powerful link with our tribal past. But how does one authentically step into a relationship with that which animates it; the Spirit of the Drum?

Ritual and drumming

Ritual drumming is a tool used by shamanic practitioners to engage the powers of the unseen world to effect specific changes in the physical world. A shamanic ritual often begins with heating the drumhead over a fire to bring it up to the desired pitch. The sound of the drum is very important. Practitioners may strike certain parts of the drum to summon particular helping spirits. It is the subtle variations in timbre and ever-changing overtones of the drum that allow the practitioner to communicate with the spiritual realm. The practitioner uses the drum to create a bridge to the spirit world, while simultaneously opening the awareness of all the participants to that bridge. A master drummer can draw powerful rhythms from the drum that can transport others into specific dimensions of the spirit world.

All elements of drum music such as timbre, rhythm, volume and tempo play an important role in shamanic ritual. By using different parts of the drumstick to play on different parts of the drum, different timbres can be produced for transmitting different meanings. Different rhythms transmit different meanings and enable the practitioner to contact different beings in different realms of the cosmos. Volume and tempo arouse feelings in the listener and communicate symbolic meanings directly as aural sense experience.

A practitioner may have a repertory of established rhythms or improvise a new rhythm, uniquely indicated for the situation. The drumming is not restricted to a regular tempo, but may pause, speed up or slow down with irregular accents. The practitioner may stop playing altogether, or suddenly hoist the drum skyward and bang it violently, throwing the disease into the heavens; returning it to the spirit world.

Creating effective rituals

Ritual drumming is a universal way to address the spirit world and provide some kind of fundamental change in an individual's consciousness or in the ambience of a gathering. It is designed to engage the spirit world in helping us to do what we are unable to do for ourselves. With a strong connection to the powers of the spirit world, ritual becomes an effective tool for restoring or changing the status quo. By creating effective ritual, we can skillfully engage spirit in the processes we are involved in like healing, therapy or actualizing our goals. Potent rituals have similar foundational elements. Key elements of this foundation include:

1. Intention is the first element of effective ritual. You should have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish. Without a clear intention or desired outcome, the energy created in the ritual is poorly structured with little or no direction. Articulating your desired outcome is how you channel the energy of the performance toward the intended objective. One good way to think about it is by asking yourself what you want to happen as a result of the ritual. What effect do you want it to have on individuals, community and the world?

2. The creation of sacred space. Sacred space is that territory that we enter for spiritual and inner work. Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, having a special place in your home reserved for quiet introspection, reflection and spiritual connection can nourish your soul. A sacred space can be any location in your home where you can be by yourself and be fully self-expressed. Be creative with this, but find a special place for you to go at least once a day.

Consider setting up an altar that is appropriate for the purpose of your ritual or ceremony. Although an altar is not essential, it provides us with a focus to pray, meditate and listen. An altar is any structure upon which we place offerings and sacred objects that have spiritual or cosmological significance. It represents the center and axis of your sacred space. A simple altar can be created with a cloth, a candle and other symbols that mean something to you.

It is important to cleanse your sacred space before starting any spiritual work. Cleanse the space by smudging and/or spraying holy water around the perimeter. Preparing a purified sacred space shifts our awareness from ordinary waking consciousness to a more centered, meditative state. Ritual preparation awakens our connection to the web of life and structures a boundary that separates the sacred from the ordinary and profane.

3. The opening of sacred space. After preparing a purified sacred space, you may wish to ritually open the space. The opening of sacred space is essentially an invocation; calling in the spiritual energies of the seven directions: East, South, West, North, Up, Down and Within. Calling in the directions not only aligns you with their power, but is a spiritual activity in and of itself. The orientation embeds you in the living web of life, yielding greater awareness and perspective. It imparts a comprehensive recollection of the basic experience of being fully human. The ritual grounds you completely in the present moment to begin your day or to begin a specific spiritual practice.

Though there are no rules or restrictions, on most occasions a sacred circle is cast in a sun-wise direction. I would suggest you start in the East where the sun rises. Strike your drum four times to open a portal in the East to the spirit world. Using words, chanting or song, invite the benevolent spirit powers associated with that direction to participate and assist in the ritual or ceremony. Welcome the spirits with an open heart and mind. Some people will whistle or make animal sounds to call in spirit helpers. Trust your instincts and intuition in this process.

Pause after calling the spirit helpers of the East and listen for any guidance or wisdom that direction has to share. The spirits will always respond when you call them. Sound does not just travel out into oblivion. There is a call and then a response. Pay attention to any guidance that comes to you. Communication may enter your awareness as a flash of color in your mind's eye, a visual symbol, a tingling of the spine or an inaudible sound heard deep within your soul. It may be visual, auditory, intuitive or some combination of these. Sometimes it is just a knowing that your helping spirits and guides are now around you. You may feel energy flowing into your hands, feet or arms, or showering down through your crown. When I channel spirit energy, I often feel chills and goose-bumps.

Next, pivot around clockwise and repeat the same procedure to invoke the spirits of the South, the West and the North. After that, invoke Father Sky above and Mother Earth below. When invoking Father Sky, reach to the heavens; when invoking Mother Earth, reach down and touch the ground where you stand.

Finally, face the center of the circle and bring your hands to your heart to invite the spirit of Within. Call upon the spirit of divine unity that flows from within the center of your being where the six directions meet. Welcome the gifts of balance, oneness and connection with all things, for all things are one and all things are related.

4. The induction of altered states. Altered states of consciousness are induced through intense rhythmic drumming. An altered state of consciousness is any state of mind that is significantly different from normal waking consciousness. Altered states produce deeper self-awareness; allow us to connect with the power of the universe, to externalize our own knowledge and to internalize our answers.

5. The closure of sacred space. When you have finished your ritual, sacred space should be closed. Follow the same procedure as for the opening, but in reverse order. Begin by thanking the spiritual energies of Within, Mother Earth and Father Sky, and then the North, West, South and East in a counterclockwise movement. Play your drum to say farewell to the spirits. As you drum, give thanks to all your relations for the needs met. The phrase "all my relations" is used at the end of a prayer in many shamanic traditions, for all living things share in the relationships of life on Earth. Express your gratitude to the helping spirits for assisting you and send them off, releasing their energies to the seven directions. Remember that drumming opens portals to the spirit world, draws spirit in, and opens you up to receive it.