For the Matsigenka of Shipetiari, the tradition of drum-making has been one that few if any have continued to practice. Over the course of our many visits with the community, a few members have shared their memory of this ancestral tradition, beginning with Angel whose family is from Tayakome. His father Napoleon had taught him how to make the drum as a young boy. He remembers that the skin of the howler monkey or 'coto mono' and the spider monkey or 'maquisapa' was what they had used to produce a deep and resonant sound.

And so with the help of Angel, who had gathered the skins, we then spoke with Luciano Keimari, the father of Javier Keimari and husband of Lola. Luciano is well versed in arrow-making and had expressed his interest to make a drum for us. His son Javier is seen in the video helping him with the drum-making process as Luciano imparts his knowledge to his son.

The drum itself is double-sided, with one of each type of skin molded and stretched onto the base made from the wood of the balsa tree or 'topa' in the Bombacaceae family. This wood is commonly utilized to make a variety of handicrafts and instruments throughout the Amazon. A handful of huayruro seeds is placed inside the drum to add a rattling effect when played, before it is permanently sealed with a handmade rope that is twisted from the cetico palm tree; also used in their signature hand-knotted 'jempo' bags.

Depending on the maker, the wooden surface of the drum is usually painted or decorated with motifs. Here Luciano painted part of the surface with the 'achiote' seed pigment commonly used throughout the Amazon for body painting, protection, and a general pigment with which they create.

According to Terri Italiano (featured in the video), the tambora or 'tingyia' was an instrument that accompanied celebrations where a row of men, dressed in their kushmas, would turn side to side while beating the drum for the women who would dance and sing in a line. The finished drum in the end made its appearance at the community's celebration that evening, with various hands playing it, everyone dancing around with laughter and a feeling of something familiar, a memory from the times before.

We would like to thank Angel, Luciano, and Terri for helping to revive this musical instrument from their ancestral memory. And it is our hope that through the power of song and sound that ancestral traditions like these continue onto the present and future generations.

This project is made possible through our partnership with SePerú; a non-profit organization dedicated to equal benefits and co-management of Peruvian Indigenous communities and their natural ecosystem.

Support this project so that we may continue to share and learn about the ancestral knowledge of the Matsigenka people.

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Video Footage: Davis Torres, Melanie Dizon

Video Edition: Melanie Dizon

Photography: Davis Torres

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