Djembe master Kocassale (Koca) Dioubate is a descendant of his Mandingo tribe of Guinea, West Africa's traditional storytellers (djeliba) and those who keep and preserve the tribe’s oral history and tradition.
For generations, Dioubate's great-grandfathers, grandfathers and fathers have passed down an inherited lineage of music and arts, and now Dioubate is reaching beyond his family roots to pass on playing percussion to anyone who wants to learn.
On Saturday, October 26, and Sunday, October 27, Dioubate will teach a beginner and intermediate djembe [hand drumming] workshop at Powell River Academy of Music. The djembe is a goblet-shaped drum traditionally carved from a single piece of hardwood and topped with an animal skin as a drumhead.
"I'm the 64th generation [of percussionists] in my family," said Dioubate. "We are African music keepers, history keepers, from generation to generation."
Dioubate said his tribe and musical family are called djeliba in his traditional West African language, but Europeans use the term griots, meaning traditional storytellers, entertainers, musicians, praise singers, counsellors and mediators.
"Music, for us, it's in the blood and in our DNA; we feel the music and music is a mission," said Dioubate. "For me, there's a mission, because every music has its own history."
Dioubate has been playing percussion since early childhood and learned to play the traditional drums of his Mandingo tribe under the guidance of his father and grandfather, who are also both esteemed musicians and percussionists.
Since arriving on the west coast of Canada in 2005, he has facilitated workshops for all age groups and performed shows at hundreds of schools, communities and festivals.
"Traditionally we use djembe between village to village for communication," said Dioubate. "If a village had a ceremony for example, for a new baby born or a wedding, the djembe player(s) would be called to play."
Dioubate said to imagine Africa a long time ago, when there were no airplane or car noises, just birds singing in the jungle.
"Without that noise, people could hear the djembe between villages," said Dioubate."The sound travels well in the air."
The two-day drumming workshop includes the choice of signing up for individual drumming classes or a weekend pass.
"Drumming is a brilliant way to bring the community together; for people to get to know each other, it's the best thing to do," said Dioubate. "When you bring in the djembe, you forget all the stress and focus on the drum beat; it's also good for the heart, the brain and your body."
He suggests participants bring their own drum, but a limited number of instruments may be available by contacting the music academy office. To find out more about the hand-drumming workshops, go to powellriveracademy.org.
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