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almlatgle DRUM MER'S PATH aS , y { | Moving the Spirit am) WIM GLO Belil? y a Traditional DAL | Tay, LeRWAL ETON BY, BEFATUNDE OLATUN])I THE DRUMMER’S PATH 3 o 2 2 > 2 32° The Circle: earth, sky, dance, music. Gregory Ince, John Blandford, and Obara Wali Rahman perform Wedding Lamba at Lincoln Center, New York, 1977. THE DRUMMER’'S PATH = Moving the Spirit with Ritual and Traditional Drumming 7 SULE GREG WILSON Sai ba Destiny Books One Park Street Rochester, Vermont 05767 Copyright © 1992 by Sule Greg Wilson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wilson, Sule Greg. The drummer’s path : moving the spirit with ritual and traditional drumming / Sule Greg Wilson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-89281-359-8 (pbk) 1. Drum—Instruction and study. 2. Afro-Americans—Music—Instruction and study. I. Title. MT655.W56 1991 786.9'089'96—dc20 91-29373 CIP MN Printed and bound in the United States Text design by Randi Jinkins Cover photograph: International Afrikan-American Ballet (IAAB) at Lincoln Center, 1977; Walter Ince plays Mandianni. Photo by Sule Greg Wilson. 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Destiny Books is a division of Inner Traditions International, Ltd. Distributed to the book trade in the United States by American International Distribution Corporation (AIDC) Distributed to the book trade in Canada by Publishers Group West (PGW), Montreal West, Quebec Anetch hrauten, paut Shepsu, Neteru. Tua-u. To my parents, who gave me life and let me live my path. To Uncle Hugh, who taught me being yourself and always growing. To Ray and to John: teachers of the Spirit. You showed me how to see and how to harmonize. To Baba Ngoma: your forbearance and discipline enabled me to survive the rest. To Shekhem ur Shekhem, who gave me the hookups and made me Stand as me. To Nana Yao Opare Dinizulu, without whose decades of work this book would never have been accepted. Baba Ifakorede: your presence is in all drummers here. Also thanks to: Jim Huffman and Mary Yearwood of the Schomburg Center, for your help in acquiring images for the book; Mai Tefa Angaza, for your encouragement; Montego Joe, for airtime, and good vibes; Oswald Simmonds, Jr, Marilyn Nance, Roy Lewis, Vanessa Thomas-Wilson, and Hakim Mutlug—for your artistic and photo- graphic talents; the people of Shinnecock, Long Island, for your welcome, time and again; Chief Bey, Shekhem ur Shekhem, the Dodsons, and friends—for reading drafts and drafts. Urr Pesh, sweet sweet; you've lived all this with me. You are circle to my cross, the temper on my heat, the earth about my air. Tua Neter. Kheper. Shepsut Kemkem TchetTer: Shekhem em Shepsu-t, tua-u. Be! Wilson Gieg Sule by Photo Suddenly, performance became ritual as the priest, Richard Ahye, was possessed by Shango. Orisa Festival, New York City, 1986. The 1986 Orisa Festival was produced by the Caribbean Cultural Center. SENSITIVE I feel the Orisa coming. I mean, at Bembes When the drums are right and the dancing’s tight and the clave is pumping and clear and bright There’s a sudden interior wind, and the air and my guts start to tingle/contract, A vibrant, sense-heightened awareness becomes and: ZOOM!!! the Gods they fly, fly through and by. Incandescing a bit of me into the ether... Aspiring to harmonize, Striving to grasp the meaning. And be One with the Power And the Flow. The Cool One watching all Can take the heat; Steps forth and allows me to see my path. And in the jamming basement throes of rhythm passed out to the world Spirit comes and takes a horse and passes Truth to all those gathered. I listen. I see. I learn.