African drumming and dance are integral to the soul of most African communities, going far beyond mere entertainment. African music is a total art form closely integrated with dance, gesture, and dramatization.
These art forms symbolize and protect royalty and are often housed in sacred dwellings. They are used as an alarm or a call to arms stirring up emotions for battle and war. They can also inspire passion and excitement and even cause trances, a momentary loss of consciousness to either the drummer or the listener. They are part of life, marking significant events such as birth, death, and marriage, and connecting people to spirits.
In daily life, various events are accompanied by unique songs and dances, usually sung by the griot, accompanied by drummers, singers, and dancers. The djembe is primarily the instrument of dance used at marriages, baptisms, funerals, circumcisions and excisions. In a typical ensemble, two djembes and a dundun player accompany the griot. Women sing and clap hands, while moving in and out of the circle, showing off their skill as dancers. The djembe master or soloist leads the pace of the dance, increasing the tempo when good dancers enter the circle.
African drumming is one of humanity’s oldest technologies. It has been a tool of communication, healing, and ceremony for tens of thousands of years.
By the early 1700s, colonial authorities saw the drum’s power among African people. The Stono Rebellion of 1739, where African drums coordinated a march for freedom in South Carolina, resulted in widespread bans on drums throughout the colonies. Drums were silenced, but unofficially, new practices emerged, such as percussive hand claps, stomps, and household objects pressed into rhythmic service. The “Drumfolk,” as they came to be called, kept the pulse alive in flesh when wood and hide were outlawed.
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Philadelphia, with its growing Black population, felt these ripples. But Black communities carved out spaces to keep ancestral memory vivid. In public squares and marketplaces, enslaved and free people gathered, singing and dancing “after the manner of their several African nations,” preserving identity through the storm.
The Role of Drums
Drums are the musical instrument that African music relies heavily upon to create the fast-paced, upbeat, rhythmic beat that signifies most African music. The drums can be both musical instruments and works of art, sculptural forms that are often decorated in a resplendent manner suited to their ceremonial function.
They can be played singly, or in pairs, or be part of a large group drum ensemble with graded tones and pitches. They can be rested on a wooden support and they can have feet or pedestals standing on their own, being carried on backs or held between or on the knees. They can have handles or straps and be held under the armpits. They can be played with hands, a stick, a rubber mallet or even the bones of the deceased.
The membrane of the drum is most often constructed from the skin of an antelope, goat, sheep or cow and less frequently from zebra, wildebeest or reptiles like crocodiles and monitor lizards. The skin is dried out in the sun and the hair shaved. It is then stretched over the hollowed out, preferably hardwood, drum base. The skin is tightened with leather straps and nailed or pegged on.
In general, the bigger the drum the lower the note and the more tension in the head, the higher the note. In size they can be tall or diminutive like the tom tom. They are often made of a frame or ‘shell’, or gourds, or barrel shaped.
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The drums can be both musical instruments and works of art, sculptural forms that are often decorated in a resplendent manner suited to their ceremonial function. sculptures. behaving, reflect values that are important to communities. full or squatting figures that carry the drum on their backs. be symbolic, carrying great spiritual meaning or they can just be decorative and tell a story. carvings.
The relationship between the drummers and dancers is one of deep reciprocity. “The energy that the drummers give to the dancers and the dancers… vice versa, it is an exchange,” Hendricks said.
Djembe Drumming Patterns for Beginners | African Drums
The Djembe: A Prominent Instrument
The African drum, also known as the djembe, is one of the most iconic and widely recognized instruments in African drumming. It is a goblet-shaped drum made from a single piece of carved wood, with a goatskin drumhead stretched tightly over the top. The djembe produces a wide range of tones and is played with bare hands.
It is widely believed that the Djembe (pronounced JEM - Beh) has its origins with the "numu", a social class of professional blacksmiths from the Mandinka (Maninke) people of western Africa in around 1300 AD.
For the most part, African history isn’t written down, but is passed down through stories and traditions. The most commonly told story is that a village idiot’s wife was pounding grain in her mortar one day when she pounded through the bottom.
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The djembe, bata, sabar, and talking drum have been sampled and celebrated by musicians everywhere.
Djembe Drum
Traditional African Rhythms
African drumming is characterized by its complex rhythms and polyrhythmic patterns. Each region and tribe in Africa has its own unique drumming style, with rhythms passed down through generations. These rhythms often tell stories, celebrate important events, or invoke spiritual connections.
The concept of polyrhythm, multiple rhythms played simultaneously, originated in Africa and now underpins everything from jazz to funk, house, hip hop, and pop.
The performance commenced with a hypnotic array of movements that were both compelling and evocative. The dancers' every step was imbued with energy and purpose, each movement speaking a language deeply rooted in tradition. We saw a ton of polyrhythmic movements, with the stomping of feet, hip isolations, upper body moments, percussions, and a strong emphasis on bent knees and low center of gravity.
West African dance has its roots in community activities, religious ceremonies, and rites of passage. It serves as a form of communication, a way to celebrate life's joys and navigate its challenges. The dances are often tied to nature, reflecting the agricultural and environmental rhythms of the region. Over centuries, these dances have evolved, blending the influences of various ethnic groups, creating a vibrant array of movement and music.
For centuries, West African dance was passed down through oral traditions, making it a living repository of history, spirituality, and cultural identity. It is an accumulation of knowledge that carries the stories of the past into the present, connecting ancestors, descendants, and strengthening the sense of belonging.
African Tribal Dance
Role in African Culture
Drumming holds great cultural significance in African societies. It is used to mark important life events such as births, weddings, and funerals. Drumming is also an integral part of traditional African dances, where the rhythms and beats guide the movements of the dancers.
African dance is often performed during significant life events such as weddings, funerals, and rites of passage. As Hendricks explains, “The dances are done for rites of passage from boys to men, from little girls to women. They are performed to mark milestones in life, and so every dance has its own meaning.”
Another key element of the dance is the clothing. The vibrant patterns on the dancers' skirts, called lapas, hold symbolic significance. "Some of the fabrics and some of the prints do have certain meanings," Hendricks explained. "You have Indigo, which is worn for certain dances by different ethnic groups, whether it's Senegalese or Guinean."
The central part of their performance lay in the resounding beats of the drums. The rhythm was not just an accompaniment; it was a living force that drove the dancers’ movements and connected the audience to a West African heartbeat. The drummers skillfully played on the d’jembe, sangba, dundunba, and kenkeni drums (all a part of the d’jembe orchestra), creating a mesmerizing sound that resonated throughout the theater.
Influence on Other Music Genres
African drumming has had a profound influence on various music genres around the world. Its rhythmic patterns and energetic beats can be heard in jazz, reggae, salsa, and even rock music. The infectious rhythms of African drumming have a way of captivating listeners and inspiring musicians across different cultures.
In hip hop, the beat machine and drum samples directly reference the telegraphic role of drums in African villages, connecting people across distance and experience. Producers like Timbaland and J Dilla have cited African drumming as a foundation for their approach. Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly and Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift brought African polyrhythms, chants, and percussion into the mainstream, drawing on collaborations with West African artists and ensembles. Global genres like Afrobeats and Amapiano, a South African genre built around an electronic log drum, reimagine traditional forms for new generations.
Modern African Drumming
Today, African drumming continues to thrive both in Africa and beyond. It has become a popular form of recreation, with drumming circles and workshops held in many countries. The drum and dance gatherings were a safe place to commune and define cultural identities based on African heritage, as the crack epidemic and drug wars were rampant in Philly’s Black communities.
Drums exist in a modern context in Africa in 3 major ways: They are still used in the traditional manner for celebrating ceremonial events, rituals and spiritual healing - a rhythmical representation of each happening in the cultural life of a village or community. They are often employed as tourist attractions in many African countries, promoting and exhibiting African heritage and culture. They can be part of exciting extravaganzas featuring costumes, music, dance and poetry.
Contemporary local musicians like Neptune XXI bridge these worlds, weaving poetry, hip hop, and African drumming into holistic wellness and healing work. “I want to contribute to hip hop culture in a way that heals,” Neptune says. “The drum is how we process, how we reconnect.” Her vision echoes that of earlier generations, using sound to gather, uplift, and transform.
Philadelphia’s rhythm carries a sound born in Africa, surviving the Middle Passage, reborn in public squares, thriving in clubs and churches, block parties, and healing circles.
Preserving African Drumming
Preserving the art of African drumming is crucial to maintaining cultural heritage and promoting diversity. Organizations and individuals are working tirelessly to teach and pass on the traditions of African drumming to future generations. By doing so, they ensure that this ancient art form continues to thrive and inspire people around the world.
In 2024, I had the privilege of organizing “The Get Together,” a weekend-long gathering of drummers, dancers, and elders at Philadelphia’s Community Education Center. It was not simply an event, but a ceremony, elders guiding youth, knowledge passing hand to hand. “Through dance, we pass ancestral wisdom from our bodies directly into the community’s collective consciousness,” said Mama Wanda Dickerson. My documentary, Blues People and the Fireside Chat, was an act of collective remembering and a living archive rooted in radical love and shared healing.
This tradition is a medicine, a salve, a way home for people fractured by systemic oppression. African drum and dance are the heart of Black Music Philadelphia - from ‘tangin’ at block parties to the drum circles at Malcolm X Park. They are acts of memory and resistance, carrying the spirit of the ancestors into the present and the future. Dance heals wounds we cannot see.
African drumming is a rich and vibrant art form that has captivated people around the world for centuries. From its beginnings as a means of communication to its influence on global music, African drumming has left an indelible mark on the world.
African Dance and Drumming
