Vrouwen en muziek in Afrika

Why do women in Guinea not play the djembe. Because its not part of the tradition. But what does that mean? Are the women not allowed to play, or do they not want to? Does this only apply to the djembe, or does it include other drums, too?

Women are definitely the creators of the rhythms and they have played an essential part in the development of djembe rhythms. Women "invented" the rhythms with their singing, clapping and dancing.

Ushi Billmeier (writer of 'my life for the djembé) also asked Mr. Sekou Saramady Kourouma, a journalist in Conakry, the question of why women in Guinea do not play djembe. He has worked with this subject and, in December 1998, wrote from Conakry: "The Malinke women have done a lot for the development of the rhythms. Until the nineteenth century, the djembe was played only by men. The problems of pregnancy, motherhood and lactation period contributed to the fact that women were not interested in playing the djembe. They simply did not have the time. In the twentieth century and in the course of emancipation, women have begun to play djembe. And one could see that everything that men do, women can do, too. Mr. Diabate, historian and radio host in Conakry, believes that there is not even one Malinke musician who would keep his art from the women, since it is the women who compose and sing the songs, which, like the dances, correespond exactly to the rhythms."

Below, he describes some rhythms and instruments that are played solely by women, of which I want to introduce five here:

Tèh da Tolon
This is a rhythm that is clapped by the women when they talk at the spring, to cheer themselves while working in the fields, or to accompany their singing in the moonlight. The rhythm Djaa emerged from the teh da tolono

Djido Tolon Dunun 
This is a rhythm played for pleasure in the water, as when the women bathe together in the river after they have finished their laundry or dishes. They sing and form a semi-circle in the water, and, by beating on the water and on their breast, they create a sensational rhythm.

Dji Dunun
This literally means "water drum." For this rhythm, water is poured into a tub (kounan), and a calabash (feh) is put into it, upside down. This calabash is struck with a ladle made with a smaller half calabash (kalama). An ensemble of ten Dji Dununs creates fantastic rhythms. The Dji Dunun is played on the occasion ofSankouda Djitah, the water transport at the beginning of the new lunar year, and at solar and lunar eclipses.

San Sani Fila / San Sani Saba
When two women work together at a mortar pounding grain, they create a rhythm called San Sani Fila; when there are three women, the rhythm is called San Sani Saba.

Karignan 
The karignan is a percussion instrument made from a metal pipe. It is about thirty centimeters long and is played with a metal stick. The sound is very percing, and the instrument is used by the female griots as accompaniment for their songs.

In historical literature, one does not find much about the life of African women. One can assume that when the first great empire of Gana was established (approximately 300 A.D.), the social system in West Africa was matriarchal. We know almost nothing about the women' s role as guardians of spiritual life in these cultures. 

J. E. Behrendt writes in his preface to the German edition of the well-known book by Mickey Hart, Die magische Trommel (Drumming at the Edge of Magic): "Drums are female ... The drum was the instrument of the great mother, when women not only were rulers, but also were drummers. This was the case for many thousands of years, before men took over and established world-wide patriarchy." 
Later, drumming was almost exclusively done by men (not only in Africa but almost everywhere in the world). In many places in West Africa, one can find even today matrifocal family systems where the oldest woman and mother is the center of the household, and the man takes care of matters outside the house.

Women had always rights and were never their husbands' slaves. Their birth families guarded their rights even after they married. Through their associations, they pursued their interests. Not much is known about these associations and groups of women, their activities (maybe even drumming), and organization. This knowledge remained secret and could neither be revealed by investigation, nor by the (native) men.

When women appear in public, it can mean a hard punishment for the men of a village. When a man has treated his wife very badly, all married women of the village get together in public and loudly denounce his misdeeds. The Bambara call this "pimbiri ba." It is a powerful tool which can "totally ruin" the prestige and reputation of a man for a long time (see Beuchelt, p. 79).

Professional female musicians today are mostly singers or griots. The story of the first female band in West Africa, "Les Amazones de Guinee" (The Amazons of Guinea), is also interesting.