February 3, 2011 (Hopkins Town, cont.)

In my last post I mentioned that my friends and I were treated to a wonderful evening of African drumming at my new friend Mark Nunez's King Cassava Cultural Restaurant and Bar in Hopkins Town, Belize.

Mark Nunez and His Crew Playing Drums at King Cassava

The experience prompted me to do a little research about African drumming, particularly since their is a drumming center right in Hopkins Town. Lebeha Drumming Center was established in 2002 by drummer Jabbar Lambey and Canadian Dorothy Pettersen. Hopkins is a small coastal Garifuna community in the Stann Creek District of southern Belize. The goals of the center are keeping Garifuna music alive, passing traditional music along to young people in the community, and sharing music with visitors to Hopkins. The center’s focus is on traditional percussion music, though guitars have been donated and are also played. The young people who play and take lessons at the drumming center perform regularly, and in 2006, they recorded a CD entitled Traditional Garifuna Music played by Youth from Hopkins, Belize, published by Innova Recordings. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Traditional Music category.
 

The center is based at the Northern end (Lebeha means "the end" in the Garifuna tongue) of Hopkins Village on the beautiful shores of the Caribbean Ocean in Belize, Central America. The center offers children, students (and adults) the chance to learn drumming, dance and cultural heritage of the Garifuna ancestors of today' Hopkins residents. The Lebeha Center is not a "therapeutic" drum circle. It is not the more commercial Punta Rock style (exemplified by stars such as Pen Cayetano and Andy Palacio), and none of the kids who get involved at Lebeha are forced to practice. If nobody shows up to listen or to dance, the boys play for themselves with just as much vigor as they would at a major festival. They carry with them the singular tradition that is Garifuna culture: a cocktail-shaker-full of African and South American Indian ingredients.

Garifuna instrumentsTraditional Garifuna drums, or garaones, are handmade of mahogany wood and deer hide. The drumhead is secured to the wooden body with cordage that is laced around the head and attached through holes at the bottom of the drum. These are tension drums; they are tuned by way of wooden pegs attached to the cordage that can be wound to tighten or loosen the drumhead. Additionally, these drums often have a thin wire or piece of fishing line stretched across the head in order to create a buzzing sound, an aesthetic which is common in much Central and West African music, and has been preserved in Garifuna music. The drums at Lebeha are crafted by master drum-maker Austin Rodriguez, whose workshop is located in Dangriga, Belize. There are two main types of drums used in Garifuna music: Primera and Segunda. The primera (or lanigi, “heart-drum”, in Garifuna) is the higher-pitched of the two, and serves to accent dancers’ movements. The segunda, or lufarugu (“shadow-drum”), which provides the beat for dancers. Sometimes a third drum, the tercera, or luruwahn (“third drum”) is the lowest-pitched of the three and serves as a bass drum. The presence of the tercera allows the Segunda to play more syncopated rhythms.

The drums are tuned by ropes on the sides and are then placed in the sun. The Primero drum is also called the male drum because it has been birthed from inside the larger female, carved from the same log. The Primero drummer and lead singer, or Gayusa, directs the musical changes, shows the greatest virtuosity, and calls the songs for the others’ response. The drums are played by hand and the trick is to be able to play fast while keeping the tone strong. The shakers or "shakas" used to accompany the drums contain seeds from a fruit tree inside a calabash gourd, and the turtle shells are exactly that, strapped around the player’s neck. There are no guitarists at Lebeha although guitars are often used in this style of music.


Additional Percussion Instruments Used by the African Drummers in Hopkins

 Traditional Garifuna music"Punta" is a traditional Belizean music and dance, often performed during festivals. This is the genre that has influenced the evolution of the popular music style punta rock. Paranda refers to both a Garifuna rhythm, and a musical genre that features Garifuna drumming, guitar, and singing. Lyrics in this genre are often nostalgic, and paranda is usually performed by men. One can hear the Latin/Spanish influence in this style of music.

Popular Garifuna MusicBelize's most well-known popular musical style is "Punta Rock", a style of dance music that combines traditional Garifuna rhythms with western popular music elements, including electric and bass guitars and keyboard.

Garifuna Culture
The Garinagu (or Garifuna people) now live primarily along the coast from Belize to Honduras and Nicaragua. A storm in 1635 in the Lesser Antilles capsized two sailing ships carrying slaves from West Africa; primarily from Rivers State, Efiks, Calabaris in southeast Nigeria. Those who made it to shore on the island of St. Vincent began to mix with the Indian settlers; the Arawak and Red Carib people, who had migrated from Guyana and the Orinoco River area of Venezuela. By 1700 the British, Spanish and French colonialists sought to use their land for cotton and sugar plantations. These Red (and now Black-) Caribs withdrew to the mountains and a century of guerilla warfare ensued. Their defeat came in 1797 on Yurumein (Garifuna for the island of St. Vincent) when their chief, Joseph Chatoyer, died in battle, and the British forcibly exiled 4,000 of them to nearby Becquia and Roatan Island, Honduras, many of them dying en route. Dissatisfied with these arrangements they let the Spanish take over the island and headed for the coast of Stann Creek, Belize, near present day Dangriga and Hopkins.
Their arrival up the river on November 19^th, 1832 (led by Alejo Beni, after finding themselves on the losing side of a revolution in Honduras) is now celebrated as Garifuna Settlement Day when reenactments of costumed musicians on boats kicks off a season of festivities in the area. UNESCO recently proclaimed Garifuna culture a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity,” though this does little to help the hand to mouth daily existence of the people. Tourism and escape to the U.S. offer some consolation and money but there are few opportunities for the practicing masters of the tradition; some of the finest elder musicians are now more conversant with a bottle of rum than with a drum. Into this mixture come the wildly talented Lebeha Boys with the enthusiasm and hope of a new generation.
　
Songs and Dances
Garifuna music encompasses what is known as Uremu song: voices with drums and other instruments, inseparable from dance. The only word in the Garifuna language for music refers exclusively to European instrumental music such as Quadrilles danced with violins and flutes.
1. “Welcome to the Party” sometimes known by its first line, “From Corozal to Toledo,” is the theme song for the Belize PUP political party but has become popular in its own right; illustrating how a composed song enters the folk tradition in such an oral culture. Here it has been reverse-engineered from its original amplified high pop style back into the traditional drumming format and incorporated as the first of a medley of songs. Towards the end each musician’s name is introduced and chanted in turn by the rest of the ensemble.
2. John Canoe (Wanaragüa) is a dance that tells the story of how Garífuna women, dressed in men's clothing, defeated a force of European soldiers at a time when their menfolk were afraid to go into battle. Male dancers honor the women's bravery by donning female attire, while the Europeans are represented by dancers wearing white costumes and masks. The dance is mostly performed around the Christmas period culminating on January 6^th (Dia de los Reyes).
The dancers wear a pink wire mesh mask, extravagant headgear, and knee rattles along with raggedy clothing and lead the musicians with a lumbering gait. This is the only time that dancers lead the musicians; generally the drummers take charge of stirring up the crowd of dancers.
3. Paranda is both the name of a rhythmic pattern for dancing and also a genre of solo song, usually accompanied by guitar. The song style originated when the Garifuna first encountered Spanish music after their arrival in Honduras, and the art of the Parandero is now hanging on by a thread. Paranda melodies are often incorporated into dance music too. A dance may end up using a string of composed songs of the leader’s choosing, hence the Parandas recorded here are identified by their first song. Parandas are danced with the arms respectfully behind one’s back, guaranteeing a grope-free social interaction.
Paranda: Malati Isien (Worthless Love) was composed by the legendary Gabaga Williams, now in his 80s. This is perhaps the most well-known Garifuna composition. Later in the sequence of Paranda songs comes another famous song, Naguya Nei (I am Moving On) by the equally treasured Paul Nabor.
Garifuna culture despises gossip and confrontational conflict so sometimes arguments are sublimated in the form of a song. Thus a family’s squabble or late rent payment may be enshrined for generations.
4. Gunjai is another dance rhythm (not unlike the African Samba) and it demands especially fancy footwork of the dancers.
5. In Garifuna history, the Spaniards, who attempted to take the Garifuna’s land and property, humiliated Garifuna women by describing them as unfit to serve in any capacity, sexual or otherwise. In retaliation, Garifuna women developed the Chumba dance to demonstrate that not only were they talented individuals but also sexually attractive people.6. Combination Dance features several Punta rhythms in succession (alternating with Hugu Hugu rhythms in contrasting triple meter) going ever faster and higher to energize the dance floor. This is a circle dance with unison (rather than call-response) singing and may be a secular version of the religious ancestor dance.
7. Paranda: Arabo. The lyrics of this Paranda begin: “Grab your machete, hold on to your sister, and let’s go to the farm.”
8. Punta, the most popular of Belizean dance rhythms, is danced by wiggling the waist with arms akimbo, chicken-like. Once the rhythm is set the dance can go on indefinitely. Although it has some affinity with the Afro-Caribbean Soca and Merengue dance rhythms the Punta is distinctive, partly because of the construction of the drums that feature buzzing snares (made from fishing line) peculiar to the Garifuna sound. The firework bursts of the Primero drum are heard to advantage here, displaying the ability of the drummers to play at lightening speed (bear in mind the fingers alone do not produce this speed, the entire hand is used — the whole forearm moves up and down that fast!). African drumming is also a great workout! You should see these guys' physiques!

The Local Kids Were Dancin' in the Streets during the Drumming Session