As the new guy it’s always worrisome coming into a new environment, with new ideas, while still honouring the past, and all the incredible activities in place in both our OREC and Summer programs. One thing that has been very clear about Kadesh’s programming in my short time here is inclusion. We intentionally create programs for everyone, and work hard to make all games have different aspects to engage the athlete, the thinker, the artist, and so on.
So, when I thought, “what’s the first thing I am going to add to Kadesh?” in regards to programming, Djembe drums just made sense. But why? Well… to explain that, I need to tell you an old story of how it is believed the Djembe (pronounced Gem-Bay) Drum was created.
Long ago, in the Mandinke tribe (what is now known as Mali - in West Africa), a young mother was making a meal for her family. She was using an old wooden bowl, that had been past down from generations before her. Each generation used this bowl, over and over, and by the time this young mother had it, it had almost worn right through the bottom.
But on this specific day, as she was cooking for her family, she finally had worn the bowl so much, that a hole was made in the bottom of the bowl. The Mandinke people were not the type to waste, and the same was true for this mother, so she did what was was fairly common then (yet may seem odd to you). She cleaned the bowl, took goat hide, wet it, stretched it out over the hole, and with thick grass tied the hide to the bowl, preserving its life. As she was now done with it, she put it away… but shortly after heard beautiful music in her home.
This women turned around to see her very young child, maybe 2, with the bowl flipped over, tapping the hide, and making music!
For those of us that have had young children, a young child tapping bowls is not odd, but it is believed that for this tribe, only very specific and qualified people could make music so beautiful. Therefore when this young child made music, on a worn bowl with goat hide, it was very special. It was at this moment that the Djembe was created. A drum, a music, so simple that anyone could do it.
Djembes are now played around the world, and most commonly played in Drum Circles where people use simple music to express feeling, play in community, and bond over the universal language of music. During Djembe Circles at Kadesh, students and campers will learn to play these instruments while playing goofy games, interacting and communicating with each other in a less common way.
- Jon