Think of a drum and what images come to mind? A military tattoo, or a thrashing drummer breaking into a sweat? What you might not picture is a drum that holds a family tradition for being able to ‘speak’.

Along the West coast of Africa, players of the ‘talking’ drum hold high status in their communities. If you meet one of these drummers, their name may well point to their drum playing heritage.

A trio of skilled players made their dramatic debut at the Black History Achievement Project, in Watford, and ‘spoke’ to the local community. The Saworo-Ide Band put on a thumping display attracting the slightly bemused attention of exhibition visitors. Within minutes, though, it was hard for visitors to resist the rhythm, as they somewhat self consciously tapped toes and wiggled posteriors. Braver individuals threw their British caution to the wind and put on impromptu dancing displays to accompany the drummers.

Drums announce the latest news

Whilst this was all entertaining enough, what the uninitiated may not have known was that the drums were in effect talking, and not just beating out a rhythm.
As drum member Alajede Ayanlere explains “The talking drum announces the entrance into the city of the King. If people in Africa heard the sound they would have been expecting to see the King appear”. The drum would be used to announce all kinds of ceremonial events or publicise new laws and announce declarations of war.

The drum also had less dramatic, but equally useful functions. Because of their unique design, talking drum www.sbgmusic.com can imitate language intonations and in the hands of a skilled player, can be made to ‘speak’. So a farmer working in the fields some distance away from home could communicate with his wife back there. He could beat out a message on his talking drum, using his skill to alter the pitch and tone of the sound. She too could use her drum to reply.

Black history month

Drums weren’t the only focus of the exhibition. The Black History Achievement project is putting on a month long extravaganza of events, workshops, and displays to celebrate Black History Month www.black-history-month.co.uk . They have been exploring the hidden history of Black people in the British Isles, stretching as far back as Roman times. The exhibits focus on customs and traditions imported to the UK, from traditional African and West Indian foods, to textiles, pottery, music and art work. Key figures throughout history have also been a main focus of the exhibition organisers.

Althea McLean OBE, co- founder of the Watford African Caribbean Association, which is behind the exhibition, says “This year’s Black History Month has been a culmination of a lot of work. It’s letting people know there’s a dynamic Black presence. The exhibits have come from people’s homes, and it’s a showcase saying ‘Look what we have!’ When you walk in [to the exhibition] you think ‘Wow!’ “

Roman Emperors and Tudor freemen

Stephan Worrell, another project volunteer, says “The exhibits are from people in this community. In here together, it puts them into a context and helps you to see them in a new light.” He was also behind much of the research into Black figures in British history, stretching back 2000 years, “Not a lot of people know about this history. It’s really enlightening to go way back and find the heights that ethnic minorities rose to.” A rich place for Stephan’s research was the National Archives www.nationalarchives.gov.uk   which has a wealth of surprising information.

Key Black figures from history include the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus, John Moore a freeman of York in Tudor times and former residents of Watford from the 18th Century. One man, known only as Edward, was a servant who worked for 44 years for the 5th Earl of Essex. We know very little of him, only that he was captured from Gambia as a child and sold into slavery. He eventually found a place in service with the Earl who later granted his freedom. Whilst hard facts are scant, it’s clear in what high estimation he was held by the Earl. The inscription on his gravestone at St Mary’s Church, Watford reads:

“Poor Edward blest the pirate bark which bore
His captive infancy from Gambia’s shore
To where in willing servitude he won
Those blest rewards for every duty done –

Kindness and praise, the wages of the heart;
None else to him could joy or pride impart,
And gave him, born a pagan and a slave,
A freeman’s charter and a Christian’s grave.”

Who knows – if Edward had come from the same part of Africa as the drummers, could he have understood the messages beaten out? It’s a possibility, because the talking drum features along the west coast of Africa, stretching from as far as Gambia, Edward’s birth place, to Nigeria and beyond.

Slaves were regularly renamed by their masters. But if we had Edward’s birth name, it could give a clue to his origins. Alajede explains that his own family name, Ayanlere, indicates the bearer is a drummer by birth - the drumming tradition is passed from father to son through generations, “We are the players of the talking drum, we are born and bred by it.” He inherited his drums, some 300 years old, from his forefathers and he will pass them on to the next generation.

His name, like other names denoting people’s trade or craft – Cooper, Smith, Farrier – tells us of his history and his present, and even the future of his descendents. How much there is in a name. Look closely at your own, and what past skills and traditions could lay in yours?