Senegalese Animal-to-Drum Making Workshop

Drum beats have pulsed through the veins of cultures around the world for millennia. In West Africa, they are used for healing, oral history and storytelling, ritual, conjuring the ancestors and spirits, and way beyond. Drums are essential characters in everyday life and the musicians and craftspeople who play and create them are extensively trained members of the community. The animals that are sacrificed to make the drum heads also play an important role in the spiritual life of the community.

This is a precious opportunity rarely offered in this country to discover the craft of drum making from Senegalese drum masters visiting from Los Angeles! Collaborate with us to craft drums from the hide of a cow born and raised on Ridgewood Ranch in Willits. Enjoy small bites cooked from the meat of the same cow by beloved local chef Caroline Radice of Black Dog Farm Catering.

Our group will be creating one to three communal drums depending upon the size of the cow hide. These drums will have an extremely important purpose as a donation to the Mendocino Art Center where they will be activated as part of a debut and celebration on XXX. The Art Center will use these drums to keep sharing African culture in this region into the future.

Questions?

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About the instructors:

Saliou M’boup:

Saliou M’Boup is a multi-instrumental musician specializing in West African and Senegalese drumming, songwriting, and teaching. Based in Los Angeles, CA, he continues his family legacy of playing and teaching West African music which he learned from his mother and father at a young age. His father, Bara M’Boup, is a Senegalese storyteller of oral tradition (griot) and master drummer who traveled to America as the director of music for Ballet Bougarabou. His mother Mindy is a prolific dancer and student of the illustrious Guinean dancer, Youssouf Koumbassa.

Saliou co-created the djembe drum curriculum that is used in public schools around California and teaches African drumming in the Los Angeles Unified School System and plays with Adama Diouf in the musical group, “The Mafe Ensemble.”

Adama Diouf:

Adama Diouf recently moved to Los Angeles from Senegal where he is a drum instructor in the local public schools. In Senegal, Adama spent his younger years traveling the country performing healing ceremonies and learning the history of each traditional song and rhythm. When a member of the community fell ill, their family would gather some money and ask Adama and his group to come and heal the afflicted individual with their music. Adama was also an expert in “drum butchery” or breaking down livestock to make drums. Adama currently performs with his cousin Saliou M’Boup in the musical group, “The Mafe Ensemble.”

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