by Thomas Altmann » Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:20 pm
Thank you Jibaro & Burke,
I am looking for the real cabildo stuff, no conga adaptations. The background is, I am giving a Bembé workshop this weekend, and I would like to be able to put Cuban Bembé (6/8) in proper relationship to the Cuban Iyesá rhythm.
I read that the original African Bembé drum was a double-headed drum with a snare string on one side, similar to the African Blekete (Brekete) drum, as well as to the Cuban Iyesá drum. The Bembé drum was played in several regions of Nigeria by the Hausa and Yoruba, among these in Ijesa country. As the African Ijesa probably did not call their drums "Ijesa drums", I speculate that the African Bembé drum became actually the Iyesá drum in Cuba. The Cuban Ganga drums look practically the same.
Bembé in Cuba may be played on double-headed or single-headed drums. This variation could be referred to the Iyesá- and the Arará influence, respectively.
The question is: Is Cuban Bembé perhaps a creole creation, the Iyesá and Arará being the closer-to-the-source original forms that have shaped Cuban Bembé?
A direct comparison of the 6/8 Iyesá and various styles of Bembé is essential to illustrate the subject.
TA