Welcome to Tasumakan, where you'll find performances, tutorials, and creative videos about African and Afro-Latin percussion music. Tasumakan means 'The sound of fire' in the Bamabara language of West Africa.
Wonderful performance! To those who comment about "capitalizing" on this culture, let alone treating it as a "novelty", speaking as another white person who has studied djembe intensively for the past 26 years, in Guinea, Burkina Faso, and anywhere else I could find teachers, let me tell you there is no capitalizing going on here. It's bloody hard work to put together a performance like this, taking many years of study, and most of the time, there is little to no pay involved. Many of my teachers in Guinea commented that they were glad to have European or North American students who were dedicated to learning - they didn't give a crap about their skin colour, they always maintained it was the heart and intention that was important. And they frequently commented that the local youth weren't interested in maintaining the traditions, so they were just grateful that anyone at all was willing. What I find painful to witness is that those who are so quick to criticize and put down a performance like this are missing the entire point - this is meant to share joy among your community. So how are these divisive comments sharing joy? Is anyone preventing melanated communities from also studying this music and sharing the joy? There are traditional teachers accessible for those who want to learn in almost every part of the world now. Honestly, if a melanated person wants to learn to play violin or bagpipes or do traditional Irish dance, I applaud them for having the dedication to master the art form. Anyone who puts in the time to master ANY tradition deserves respect, I don't care what their ethnic background is. Joy and Celebration are part of our collective human heritage, and lord knows the entire planet could use more of that right now. If you want to criticize people for cultural appropriation, let's talk about all the posers who run so-called 'African drum circles' without ever talking about the cultural origins of the instruments, or without ever having studied with an African teacher, or how about all the drum manufacturers who have capitalized on the popularity of the djembe and now make cheap instruments out of fiberglass or cheap instruments made in Indonesia. Many of those are multi-million dollar businesses, but you want to pick on a local drum and dance troupe who put in the time and work to represent the culture respectfully? There is nothing about this video that is cultural appropriation, this is a beautiful and respectful sharing of a cultural tradition that deserves all the exposure it can get. Kudos to all the performers, I know exactly how hard they worked to put this performance together.
It's a sheer travesty what has happened to the African people and their culture.This gathering is a true testament to their strength, courage and fortitude .May they be blessed and their generations be loved and cared for.For they are the roots to us all.
