The Drum That Speaks
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The Drum That Speaks

Video17 min Medina, DakarWolof

Sabar rhythm as language, phrase by phrase.

Sabar does not accompany a celebration so much as narrate it — announcing arrivals and commenting on them.

Three drummers break named rhythms down phrase by phrase and say what each one means.

Two of them now teach the same patterns to Senegalese families abroad over video calls.

Photographs

From this recording

The Drum That Speaks — photograph 1
The Drum That Speaks — photograph 2
The Drum That Speaks — photograph 3

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