Friday 21 May 2021

Stuff Around My Home -- Hoop Drum


I made this hoop drum in Winnipeg in the summer of 1997, about six months before I moved to Edmonton. A local feminist artist and respected indigenous elder, Mae Louise Campbell, facilitated a women's drumming circle with which I drummed for a couple of years. Every once in awhile, she would host a workshop where we could each make our own drum and drumstick.

My drum is made out of deer hide which, of course, was sopping wet during the process in order to be pliable. From the round edge of the large circular hide, we cut long thin strips which became our lacing cords. Then, using an awl and hammer, we punched out a specified number of holes at even spaces around the hide's edge.

Mae Louise then showed us how to lace and secure the hide to the wooden hoop around which it was stretched. This part of the process took the longest and was the most difficult to do. My work was a little uneven but it got the job done, LOL!

Here's what the back of my drum looks like -- 


The wooden hoop inside the drum is cedar from British Columbia. It's the most expensive hoop material to use but it is the best because it will never, ever warp. Other woods can (and often do) warp from the wetness and then your drum is ruined once dry. Here's a view of the cedar hoop --


Every step of the drum-making process was accompanied with smudging and other rituals to honour the deer, the cedar, the completed drum, life, and ourselves as makers and drummers. In the final ritual, we scattered loose tobacco on top of the wet drumhead to honour the drum. The tobacco remained there until the drum was fully dry about a week later. Once removed, small permanent brown stains remain on the drumhead, indicating that it is a sacred drum used for spiritual drumming.


We also constructed a drumstick out of a peeled red willow branch and a suede leather pouch stuffed with cotton and glue. On my own later, I added the decorative suede thongs on the drumstick's head and handle, finishing off each one with blue-and-white pony beads. As you can see in the previous photos, I added similar suede and bead accents to the four cardinal points of the drum itself. Some women painted their drumheads when dry, but I left mine in its natural state so as to keep the tobacco marks visible.


I've had many years of enjoyable drumming with this drum in a variety of settings -- various drumming circles (pagan or otherwise), Earth Day drumming circles, shamanic drumming, and on one memorable night, a candlelit labyrinth walk. My drum got its most regular use, of course, during the thirteen years I facilitated my own women's spirituality drumming circle here in Edmonton. Although that drumming circle is in the past now, I still drum with my personal drum every now and then on special occasions.


Oh, and when I do have to transport my drum to an event, here is its large tote bag!

[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, May 2021]

57 comments:

  1. This was very interesting to see the process and the mindfulness of honouring the materials and maker thank you

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  2. I missed the drumming times, I should have made the time. Very nice work!

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  3. Wow! This is fabulous and you do such great work! The fact that you've been able to keep track of this from 1997 makes my heart sing.(lol) I love saving things from back in the past too. Awesome work, and Happy Weekend too! Hugs, RO

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  4. @ Laurie -- Yes, you are exactly right! Making your own drum bonds you to the instrument and it becomes an expression of your soul journey!

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  5. This is genius although I'm glad I don't live next door 😂😂😂😂

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  6. I never knew about the drumming....how intresting! You certainly are a woman of my surprises..

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  7. this is really special. i have several of these drums but none that i made. you did a wonderful job!

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  8. Your talents know no end. Beautiful.

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  9. WOW! Very nice - very cool - very impressive!

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  10. Not only does this involve making the drum - a craft - but also playing it - an art. Neither easily acquired. A lot more satisfying and self-respectful than commercial ready-made things like computer games.

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  11. did HRH pick out the tote bag?
    I had no idea about your drum talents!

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  12. Very nice drum. I was blessed by the elders of 2 tribes to teach drum and pipe making. So I know how you feel about your drum. I have 3 that I still use and made padded drum bags for them. It is always nice to know others have the heartbeat of Mother Earth.

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  13. Thank you so much for the information about this artform. My son goes drumming, and I think I'll let him know about this process and its rituals. It's very enlightening.

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  14. Very cool Debra! I attend our local drum circle often (well, pre-covid anyway). I have drums but I would love to make my own. That is really cool!

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  15. @ anne marie in philly -- You know she did, LOL!

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  16. @ DVArtist -- Awesome, very cool! That's a great honour for you.

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  17. Not only is the drum a work of art, but the quilt is gorgeous! I love the jewel tones with black.

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  18. Such a beautiful processed and drum. And of course the perfect traditional drum tote.

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  19. @ Cop Car -- Thanks! I love my quilt too. I had it custom made about 18 months ago. If you want to know more about it, here's an older blog post of mine --

    https://shewhoseeks.blogspot.com/2020/02/my-quest-for-quilt.html

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  20. The part about the tobacco is interesting. When I resume my travels, I'll have to pay closer attention to all the drums in the museums around the southwest.

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  21. Wow! That is a fabulous drum. I wold love to do a workshop like that. I took up drumming a number of years but gave up because the class clashed with Zac's. Oh and the fact that my sense of rhythm is slightly lacking.

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  22. @ Linda -- Coincidence or synchronicity? The Labyrinth is calling you!

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  23. Hello Debra, I have written about the importance of building quality into musical instruments, and you show how this is incorporated every step of the way. The symbolism is as important to build in as the musical or physical qualities, and it affects the sound and function to an extent that you of course fully realize.
    --JIm

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  24. That's a beautiful drum -- I'm impressed! Perhaps in a future post, you could include a clip so we can all hear you drumming?

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  25. Cool!!..Love the colors in the quilt..Enjoy your weekend..

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  26. @ Tundra Bunny -- Alas, I don't know how to record and attach an audio file to a blog post. But perhaps that's a good thing, or else you would be subjected to my vocal stylings of "The Wellerman."

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  27. Thank Jeebus for small mercies then, LOL!

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  28. I do remember having a drum like this. Maybe it is a false memory. Oh and I WANT a bag like this.

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  29. How fantastic! Drumming must be even more enjoyable when you have made your own. I have only drummed once with locals at a town we visited. It was such a fun thing that they invited strangers to sit down and start drumming. Although I had no idea what I was doing or the meaning of what was going on, I loved it. Music unites us all!

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  30. Debra, this is so special! Your soul is apart of this drum! So beautiful! Cute tote bag! LOL! Big Hugs!

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  31. Is the other side of the bag blank? Take the bag to a printer and have them put a picture of a drum on it with the word "drum" at the top.

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  32. That is gorgeous! And the colours on the quilt...holymoly...stunning!

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  33. Drumming is a unique and personal skill. I enjoyed reading your drum making excursion.

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  34. No need for audio files; you could record videos of your drumming and sea shanties (sea shanties!) and upload them to your blog. We would all be delighted to listen to them.

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  35. @ Old Lurker -- Such technological wizardry is also beyond me, alas. I can insert a video from YouTube but I don't know how to make and upload a video TO YouTube. And it's probably best that I don't learn.

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  36. Very cool. I appreciated reading of the NA traditions behind the making of the drum and drumstick!

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  37. Wow! Your quilt is even more stunning (of course!) in its entirety - and such a detailed tag. That pattern (or one very similar to it) was one of the six or seven patterns that I suggested to our younger daughter a couple of years ago when I was starting the process of making her a quilt. Surprisingly, she opted for a different design that she and I promptly modified to her liking (shown in several blog postings under the Category "Quilts".)

    Your team did a fabulous job!

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  38. I too like the drum
    The bag looks just right for a cat as well as books to be in.

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  39. I am sure you can figure it out, Debra. For years the world has been deprived of your gifts as a visual artist. It would be unjust to deny us your musical talent as well.

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  40. Deb, I forgot to ask, do you have to treat the drum in anyway? Like oil it?

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  41. @ Old Lurker -- You are incorrigible, Lurkie.

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  42. @ Magic Love Crow -- I was told that some people do oil their drumhead with mink oil, but I have never done so. If the deerhide gets taut and higher-pitched, I just lightly squirt the inside of the drumhead with water from a spritz bottle. This softens the drumhead sufficiently that its tone will lower and become more melodious. But if you over-spritz, it will get too damp and the sound will go flat until it dries out again. I've also seen people "warm and soften" a taut drumhead by briefly holding their drum over a campfire (if outside) or stove element (if inside). I've also seen drums get scorched that way, though, so I don't recommend it. A spritz bottle is much safer!

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  43. Wow. You fashioned a really beautiful drum!

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  44. We have a drum circle here in Manitou in the summers on Thursday nights. It is fun to go watch.

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  45. Cool-looking drum. I like the part about the tobacco. It's a reminder that Native-Americans viewed the substance a little differently than did the European explorers who took it back home with them.

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  46. Dunstan SkinnerSunday, May 23, 2021

    This is marvelous, rich and heartfelt. Yet also although you may be novice in execution, your descriptions are as clear as those of an ethnomusicologist. You do your teacher proud, no doubt. I remember a book from studying at The Evergreen State College call "The Fourfold Way: Walking the Path of the Warrior, the Teacher, the Healer and the Visionary," by Angeles Arrien. In this amazing book Arrien shows that among first peoples around the world the instrument for awakening the spirit of the warrior is the drum. I seem to recall her saying that in the modern world the way of the warrior is "to show up," which you do every time you blog. Thank you for your courage.

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  47. Such an impressive drum! It must have been a wonderful experience to make it and engage in the rituals associated with the process.

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  48. Beautiful! Both the drum and the bag. Hm... now I might have to add "make a drum" to my list of Awesome Things to Make with My Hands.

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  49. What a beautiful drum. Your story of how it came into being makes it even more special.

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  50. @ Dunstan Skinner -- I remember seeing that book by Angeles Arrien too, although I never read it unfortunately. However, I still have one of her several books on tarot which is still an invaluable reference source for me!

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  51. Your drum is beautiful!! Thank you for sharing it and the process of how you made it.

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  52. My wife and I are familiar with Native drumming. We attended many Potlatch while living in bush Alaska, and often times danced with village dancers.
    the Ol'Buzzard

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  53. Thanks for the information Deb!

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  54. I love how beautiful and thought-out the drum making is; it truly is a piece of art. You have such an interesting past (and present) and I love learning all of these things about you Deb.

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  55. This is really special post dear Debra and you drum looks divine !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    i am stunned with you love and passion for all this my friend!

    this is magnificently carved drum and i can see your spiritual journey with this amazing tr tradition is long and inspiring.
    i am still in awe how you created this beautiful drum ,i can see you while performing your enchanting ritual :)

    thank you for sharing the beauty and divinity of your soul with us !

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  56. You just became that much more awesome by making your own drum. That's super cool!

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