The Drum - dewegen

Dewegen: the heartbeat
De - heart
We - sound
Gen - thing

 I mentioned a couple of posts ago that the drum is sacred.  (Again, we don’t worship the drum...)
The drum is the voice, the spirit, the heartbeat of Mother Earth and all our ancestors.  The drum educates us in our songs, heals, honors and celebrates.

 Our small group of four people who just started playing together traveled to Tillamook recently. One of our CPN elders is at end-of-life; we first played for her daughter (who faces her own health issues), then played just two songs at the elder’s home:  Spirit Bear and a woman’s honor song.

 Many tribes don’t allow women on the big drum, but they can surround the men and sing. Our tribe has that tradition, but we have talked with the cultural folks in Shawnee and they understand we will generally follow the Pacific NW traditions in our travels.

 Robert and I just finished making a spirit drum (or PowWow drum); ours is 27” diameter. At different points we blessed or smudged the pieces being assembled.  We reminded ourselves to not be angry, because we did not want to put bad thoughts into the drum. Sounds easy, but sometimes the process got a wee bit frustrating. 

 We put a small pouch of tobacco inside the drum, attaching it to the cross-brace which will never be seen. But it added our personal connection with the drum and Creator; it gives our thanks, and adds protection. 

I have so much to learn about the drum.  And I look forward to all of the learning. Oh, and back in May I went to the hand drum making class:


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