The Spirit Drums of Tanzania: Legends and Myths

When the Drums Begin to SpeakAcross Tanzania, music has long been more than entertainment. A drumbeat may accompany dancing, celebration, storytelling, rites of passage, mourning, healing, and the gathering of a community. The Swahili term ngoma itself carries meanings that reach far beyond a single musical instrument, embracing drumming, dance, performance, ceremony, and, in some contexts, healing and spiritual traditions.This rich cultural world provides the inspiration for The Spirit Drums of Tanzania: Legends and Myths. Tanzania is home to many peoples, languages, landscapes, and oral traditions. From the shores of the Indian Ocean and the islands of Zanzibar to the plains surrounding Kilimanjaro, from the Great Lakes region to the central highlands, stories have traveled through generations in spoken words, songs, dances, and ceremonies.The legends explored in this book belong to a world in which the boundary between the visible and invisible is often imagined as thin. Forests may conceal mysterious beings. Mountains may hold memories of ancestors. Animals may become teachers, tricksters, messengers, or symbols of ancient wisdom. Spirits may appear in stories as forces to be feared, respected, understood, or overcome.