Rhythm

There is a rhythm to life, to a culture. Each one is different, unique. It is a gift to hear and move to the rhythm of a culture. It takes time. That is what I am learning about living in Rwanda. This has been driven home to me in the rhythm of the drums of Rwanda. It is significantly different from the rhythm of the drums of Malawi. Drums are still very much a part of the culture of Rwanda while in Malawi they are used only for cultural celebrations. The Scots purged drumming from the daily flow of life in Malawi. That is not the case in Rwanda.

Yes, drums are still used for celebrations. That remains woven into the fabric of life. I hear testimony to that every weekend. The main hall at PIASS is just across the dirt road from my house, a mere 30 yards away. The hall is the perfect venue for wedding receptions, among other meetings and almost every weekend, it is the site of at least one wedding reception, That means traditional music and dancing. That means drums. I listen to them for the duration of the 3-5 hour celebration and feel the rhythm of life, of  lives being joined.

Drums are a routine part of worship as well. Whether that worship is the Friday evening rally at the meeting hall or Sunday worship in the Presbytery chapel or daily morning devotions in the student chapel, the drums are present. They set the rhythm for “Amazing Grace,” and “Standing on the Promises,”  for “Kumbaya,” and everything in between. Last Sunday when the choir was singing a lovely French carol in the Presbytery Chapel, accompanied on the electronic keyboard, the power went out. This is a common occurrence here. The choir kept singing and one of the members, a young girl, casually walked to the drum that was sitting in the corner and provided the rhythm for the song. The choir never missed a beat. A drum works as well as an electronic keyboard. The focus was praise to God, not the instrumentation.

In Malawi, drumming was done mostly with the hands. Here it is with one hand and one drum stick that may be used on the drum head or on the side of the drum, depending on rhythm desired. The combination provides a variety of options to suit the song.. Again in Malawi, usually the drummer was male. On one occasion, I remember seeing a Malawian woman drumming, but that was at a preschool with small children. Here both men and women drum. The students take turns, and the gals are every bit as good as the guys. They will frequently share the drumming opportunities.

 Many afternoons, after the local secondary school is dismissed, the students rush to the soccer field which is beyond my back yard. I hear cheering and drumming and if I am listening carefully, I can tell the score from my back patio, without seeing the match because the drumming follows the scoring. At 6 a.m. and p.m. and 12 p.m. each day the local Catholic Church drums the hour, inviting parishioners to prayers. Even though I am not going to prayers, I know the time. The rhythm of life is marked by drums, maybe not exactly as it was in the past, but still as a part of daily life.