The Healing Drum: African Wisdom Teachings

Over the years of owning this book I have returned to "The Healing Drum: African Wisdom Teachings" again and again. As a person of African descent I find it incredibly enriching to read the stories of Yaya Diallo as retold by Mitch Hall regarding his upbringing in the musical culture of the Miniaka (Bamana) people. We are all lucky that Diallo's words are preserved by Hall in "The Healing Drum" because a great deal of healing wisdom of Africa is oral, passed through families, thus it remains secretative. I welcome this open-hearted effort and openminded collaborative work seeking to contribute to international healing through authentic sound, as such I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking knowledge of alternate ways of healing inspired by West African spirituality.

This book is about music, healing, indigenous view of life and above all, it is about harmony, which is achieved when life is lived with respect and with generosity. Diallo is a member of the mainly agricultural Minianka/Senufo tribe living in what today is Mali. The Minianka have been able to resist the depredations which occur when Islam or X-ianity enters African societies; they are animist, that is, they still observe and follow ancient laws that emphsize the interdependence between humans, nature and the transcendent realms. Music to the Minianka music is much more than entertainment. It is used for work, celebration, ritual, inititations, funerals and healing; each activity (as well as each profession and each person) has its own special rhythms and harmonies. The MInianka understand music as a bridge between the visible and invisible. As such, it is used to establish harmonious relationships between an individual, his community, his ancestors and the Creator. Every night there is dancing at the village square - and EVERYBODY dances. Minianka musicians learn to transpose the essence of their fellow men's characters into music, so that when a villager gets to dance, he is greated by rhythms which match his/her character and emotional configuration. By observing closely, the musicians can adapt the music to the needs of the listener and thereby lead them to health. In Minianka villages, says Diallo, "musicians are healers, the healers musicians.... Music...amplifies to our sense the unheard tones and unseen waves that weave together the matter of existence. The beat, the rhythm, the timing, the orchestration, the flow, the balance between action and rest must all be within well-defined limits...and the music becomes a healing art that helps restore emotionally and psychologically disturbed people to harmonious human functioning. " THe book is well written and brings us a close -up of Fienso, the village of Diallo's childhood. I found the descriptions of initiation ceremonies, daily work, secret societies very interesting. It made me see the Minianka society as an extremely sophisticated - where there is place for everyone and where everybody is interconnected in a web of mutual obligations between people, spirits and God. Unfortunately, the interdependence on mutual obligations makes the African society also fragile; when reciprocity inherent in such webs is interrupted, as during incursions of oil and diamond money, radical X-ianity or Islam, the African society collapses and we get what we see today in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Liberia or Sudan - lack of harmony and lack of peace. Still, we would be fools to pass the opportunity to learn what Africans have to teach us. Music is one of the keys that can open the door of the gilded cage in which the giant of industrial nihilism has imprisoned us and Yaya Diallo shows us in this wonderful book, that it is possible to open one's body, spirit and destiny to the amazing world of ha

"The Healing Drum: African Wisdom teachings" by YaYa Diallo and Mitchell Hall offers an introspective view into the Minianka culture of Mali. As an African-American student, this book helped me to understand a lot about myself. For example, YaYa explains that in his culture, musicians have a responsibility for the affect that the music has on it's listeners. "In my culture, art is allied with morality." (94)We in the West have debated the issue of the artist's responsibility for some time now. As an aspiring actress and writer, my belief has always been that we have are responsible for the messages we send through our art. YaYa explains that music can not only heal, but also can hurt. This is evident in the complacent attitude of many of today's rap artists and it's consumers. YaYa also expounds on some of the differences between the value of time and structure in Minanka culture vs. the same concept in the West. Understanding this element of an African culture allowed me to realize that I am not as crazy as many of my peers and professsors would have me to believe. YaYa's description of the late-night festivals helped me to understand why I can stay up all night and sleep all day sometimes. I was offended by one review which stated that YaYa's book describes Minankas as drug addicts. His description of the Minianka's use of herbs and medicines to heal is no different or worse than the Western philosophy of popping pills to make troubles disappear, i.e, prozac, ridalin, sleeping pills, etc. YaYa also emphasizes the importance of music in the healing process, and his descriptions of instances in which music was used to heal in his culture are both moving and sincere. In light of American's recent "liberation" of Iraq, it was also interesting to read YaYa's description of the French colonization of Mali. "The French glorified their colonization of large parts of Africa as a 'mission civilsatirce', a civilizing mission...The textbooks spoke of Africa rarely enough and then only referred pejoratively to the 'natives', not the human beings who belonged to our continent." (120) It has been long understood in the elevated members of my own culture, that Africa and America are inextricably connected. I believe a closer look at the statement above could easily be related to the reluctance of many Black youth in America to take an interest in formal education. The teachings in this book are, in many cases, universal and, in most cases, interesting and inspirational. YaYa Diallo tells his story with simplicistic eloquence,humor, and wisdom. The book offers much in the way of history and parables, without beating you over the head. Mitchell Hall has done an excellent job of translation. I was required to read this book for an African Dance class I was taking at the University of Louisville. For any person who is interested in learning more about music, Minianka culture, or the world, I would highly recommend YaYa Diallo and Mitchell Hall's

I wanted to read this book because I have recently started learning African drumming and I wished to find out more about West African culture and how traditional music is used to heal. This was the perfect book for both aspects.The author helps us to appreciate the culture of his village through his own experiences. We read about his struggles to follow the customs and teachings of his village as he is educated in French culture and taught to embrace the Western way of life.We also gain an insight into the secret societies and social aspects of life in his village. Suspend disbelief at some of the awesome sights that he relates, I only wish that I could see them for myself! The sociological, psychological and religious knowledge that he reveals about his community is fascinating.Yaya shows us that a musician in this culture does not just "play" music, music is a vital aspect of life which sustains the society and heals lost souls. The musician is a healer and a protector of the people. Each piece of music has implications, positive or negative, and the musician has a responsibility to the community to play well and appropriately.This book has helped me to gain an insight into African culture and music; from now on my djembe playing will have more significance for me and I feel inspired by the healing potential that I now hold in my hands.

It was wery interesting for me, a guy from Iceland to read this book, for Dialo's life in Africa was so totaly different from growing up here in Iceland, but what we do have in common though is a deep love and respect for drumming, music and the power of both to heal. I would like to add, that though there is a big difference on the surface it is interesting to see how similar humans are underneath the surface.I recomend this book for all who have interest in traditional African music and culture, and for all those who play the Djembe this book is a must.For those of you who are studying drumming and/or rhythm I also recomend Sule Greg Vilson's "The drummers path", Reinhard Flatichler's "The forgotten power of rhythm", And "A rhytmmic vocbulary" by Alan Dworsky.