#Dondo Drum

[sankofaspirit]

[dondo-biohazard]

Bio: Frankie (revamp)

Age: 13

Sex: Worker

Height: 5"9

(This is a restart for an old OC, Frankie, originally a band member with Ska. Forget that shit tho this a redo)

Backstory: From the moment Frankie was hatched, he was used in various experiments and test trials for laughing gas and various hormonal/chemical projects for products used for mudokon brains and work productivity. However, the chemicals and heavy amounts of gas have malfunctioned and turned into his various issues with dopamine receptors, adrenal glands and nervous system. When these issues started showing up early in his childhood, he was deemed no longer a suitable test subject and sentenced to death. This is when he met Dondo.

Dondo was given the duty to put Frankie down. However, she found the younger kid charming for his energy and asked why he was getting signed to the furnace when there's nothing wrong with him. However they ignored this and said if Dondo didn't kill him they'd kill her too.

Dondo spent that walk across the factory holding a shaking Frankie, repeating how much he didn't want to die. That he was scared. It was the first time Dondo ever met someone so eager to be alive.

And so, she spared him and decided to take care of him in secret, writing off his record as deceased and keeping him hidden deep in the basement with the furnaces she called home. They shared meals and did their best to keep eachother company. The night Dondo first brought him in she held him until he fell asleep. Despite being not much older than him, she still doted on him since he was such a cute little guy.

Likes: Rock Candy (A LOT), practical jokes, messing with people he thinks are stupid, drumming on anything, brew

Dislikes: the sun, being told no, shirts, being babied

Positives: Determined, strong willed, intelligent and observant.

Negatives: annoying, crass, socially inept and lack of boundaries

[kemetic-dreams]

Kromanti dance or Kromanti play (capitalised to Kromanti Dance or Kromanti Play) is a Jamaican Maroon religious ceremony practiced by Jamaican Maroons. It is rooted in traditional African music and religious practices, especially those of the Akan people of Ghana. The name Kromanti (or Coromantee) derives from Kormantin (or Cormantin ) where a historical slave fort in the coast of Ghana was located. Many slaves shipped to Jamaica during the Atlantic Slave trade originated from present–day Ghana in West Africa

The pure form of Kromanti dance is not one of those contemporary dances of Jamaica, neither is it a Jamaican party or hall dance, but a sacred dance based on the tenets of traditional African religious practices. Although the dance has influenced some aspects of Jamaican culture, and is still practiced today, the religious aspects of the dance are no longer performed as in the past—due to Jamaican Maroons' conversion to Christianity.Despite its modern twist, it is still concerned with solving problems of day-to-day life, such as illnesses resulting from spirit possessions, infidelity, and any other life problems. The Maroons viewed Kromanti dance as a form of metaphorical warfare, a protection on a spiritual level rather than a physical one.

Rituals

The ritualistic aspects of Kromanti dance involves a "distinctive music and dance styles" which is "centered around possession by ancestral spirits."

Some of the surviving elements derived from African tradition are Country, a music style that uses a drum language like the Dondo, in order to play songs and proverbs; and healing, which is achieved through a rhythmic dance, music, and possession. Like "many other African-derived healing ceremonies, a possessed medium attends to patients, employing song, dance, sacrifice, and herbal remedies."

The Kromanti dance usually begins after nightfall and continues until daybreak. After several hours, the dance losses its recreational momentum and the chief "fete-man" (ritual specialist, similar to an African high priest) becomes possessed

[puppys-rhythm-heaven]

my rhythm heaven songs playlist is very chaotic

it consists of:

spaceball opening intensifies

sick beats getting an actual ending to its song

don don pan pan dondo pan pan

oh this is a good song no official soundtrack version fun

char-late ditzy down pu-pu-pu-punch

japanese

the superior night walk

another good song no official soundtrack version damnit

japanese part 2: electric boogaloo

char-late ditzy down pu-pu-pu-punch but in swing

rapping’s just talking apparently

tap but fast

medley

elevator music (ft. screaming children)

I SUPPOSE! (I SUPPOSE, HEY!)

love lizard. just one. the other died

stomping is apparently the ideal way to harvest crops

the game’s emo phase

drum

is this acapella

fast and also romance i guess

why is dog ninja sad. explain yourself rhythm heaven

frog

repetition

lockstep

RAIN FALLS ON ME, AND NOW I’M WALKING AWAY, TELL ME, DO YOU FIND ME MORE BEAUTIFUL NOW? I’M NOT THE KIND TO LET YOU WATCH AS I CRY, SO I GOT TO LEAVE, I GOT TO FORGET YOU doo doo doo

smooth transitions

IT’S PARADISE SINCE THE FIRST TIME I SAW YOU STANDING THERE, BUT IT FEELS SO LONG AGO NOW, YEAH-

YOU TOLD ME DREAMS COME TRUE- YEAH YEAH YEAH, YEAH YEAH YEAH- WE’LL FIND OUT, BABY TONIGHT- IF I GET CLOSE TOOOO YOUUUU

frog but instrumental

the best game

birb

lockstep but swing

remix 8

RAIN FALLS ON ME, AND NOW I’M WALKING AWAY, TELL ME, DO YOU FIND ME MORE BEAUTIFUL NOW? I’M NOT THE KIND TO LET YOU WATCH AS I CRY, SO I GOT TO LEAVE, I GOT TO FORGET YOU doo doo doo but again

elevator music (ft. screaming children) but beach

space soccer but they’re cowboys now for some reason

splashdoink but sequel

medley 2: electric boogaloo

i always forget i have the cafe music

monkey

insert space soccer joke here

monkey again

SHIVERING COLD ON A BIG CITY NIGHT, WELL THAT’S JUST HOW YOU FOUND ME WAY BACK THEN- AND IN THE SUDDEN BLINK OF AN EYE, I KNEW MY LIFE WAS UP FOR A CHANGE-

flip flop

lockstep but birb

rhythm heaven please actually teach me what rapping is i still don’t know

circus? carnival? ,,, one of those

there’s no i in prawn

BABY I’M A BROKEN MAN- ,,, that’s it. that’s the song

s p a c e

night walk but inferior (ft. lyrics)

blue

the false remix 8 (ft. catchy lyrics)

monkey but aesthetic™

THEY SAY IT’S STILL JUST NOTHING BUT A MEN’S WORLD- THEY SAY IT’S JUST TOO HARD TO FIND YOURSELF- BUT WHEN YOU DANCE YOU FEEL GOOD, AND,,, uh,,, something something- AND YOU’LL REALIZE THAT YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL- I JUST WANT TO SHINE, I WANT TO BE LOVED NOW- I JUST WANT TO SHINE, I WANT TO BE LOVED NOW- KNOW YOU JUST CAN’T LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND YOU- KNOW YOU CAN’T JUST LIVE A LIVE OF SHINING GLAMOUR-

BABY I’M A BROKEN MAN- ,,, that’s it. that’s the song but again

medley 3: electric boogaloo again

the return of japanese

I’M A LADY NOW, I’M A LADY NOW, ALREADY- I’M A LADY NOW, BUT YOU DON’T KNOW ME ANYTHING AT ALL- DON’T TREAT ME LIKE A GIRL-

the return of japanese 2: electric boogaloo

donut

barbershop

birb but remix

the return of acapella

don’t stress eat

KAMONE! (KAMONE, HOI!)

i think rings of fire are a safety hazard in the jungle but sure

medley 4: electric boogaloo yet again

medley 5: i think i’ve overused this joke

medley 6 (ft. sequels)

[jenniferchau-information]

Artefact Three

Talking Drums (before 18th century)

 One of the oldest musical instruments

 Constructed from tree trunks/wood

 The drum was traditionally produced using tree trunks/wood, animal skin and leather cords.

The talking drum originates from West Africa and has become one of the oldest percussion instruments in the world. There are many associated names such as, Dondo, Tamanin, Lunna and Dundun. Drums are produced using wood with two drum heads on either end. The connection and pitch control of the drum is held together by leather cords. The functionality of the drum was to place the drum under your arm and then to squeeze the cords to regulate pitch. Resembling an hour glass shape, the act of striking the head of the drum was able to project the notes aloud. Depending on how hard you squeezed the cords together, higher pitches – hard squeeze, lower pitches – less squeezing. The talking drum was quite interesting as pitches could “mimic the tone, rhythm, intonation, and stress of human speech.” (streamafrica). Hence the name, talking drums. Being popular in West Africa, the main players of the drum were Griots; historian, storyteller, poet or musician. The history of the drum can be stretched as far back to Yoruba & Hausa people as well as the Ghana Empire. Its cultural significance meant that it was used during traditional events, rituals, religious ceremonies, burials, marriage and royal occasions developing its own genre of Griot music. There are actually different types of drums, but these differ from which type of tree they were cut from/what region they came from.

The way in which messages could be relayed was the striking of the drum head producing various pitches and tones along with the manipulation of the leather cords. What may seem like a very menial task, it takes years to master the mimicking of the talking drum to produce what appears to represent verbal communication. The positioning of the drum would be found under the arm with a complementary striker in the other. Careful handwork and dedication to the art of the talking drum would result in whole phrases being understood from a distance.

According to Gleick. J. (2011), he mentioned that “no one spoke simply on the drums. Drummers would not say

“Come back home,” but rather, Make your feet come back the way they went, make your legs come back the way they went, plant your feet and your legs below, in the village which belongs to us”

Africanstylesandculture.com says that, “In this way, the messages were passed along poetically while also ensuring clarity. Every beat meant a sound in a phrase, and every phrase coincided with a word. In this way, the words were broken up into specific phrases which were drummed out in separate sounds.” It wasn’t just random and arbitrary sounds coming from the drums, but it enabled the transmission of messages over great distances to be sent to others. Messages that were sent by drums were instant and time efficient compared to those that were written. The basic sense of sound/hearing of the talking drums was much more than just playing, but served as an advancement of technology today. It wasn’t until the 18th century where Europeans took interest in the method. In the 19th century, a missionary by the name of Clarke, Roger T. (1934, pp. 34–48), recognised that “The signals represent the tones of the syllables of conventional phrases of a traditional and highly poetic character. The phrases are sufficient in number that the code can be used for a large variety of messages, furnishing a means of instantaneous communication throughout a radius of several miles.” Much like today, the talking drum can almost be compared to notifications or alerts that we receive on our cell phones today.

Images

https://www.africanheritagecollection.com/products/handcrafted-wooden-talking-drum