ASU Research E-Magazine: Learning the Language of Drums

Mark Sunkett studies the interconnections between Senegalese ethnic groups and their representative instruments. He makes audio and video recordings in his quest to document the present, established rhythms of different drum families. But his vision is to learn exactly how the rhythms were played a hundred years ago.

Sunkett relies on communication to accomplish his research goals. The information sources are diverse: the international language of music, a more literal French dialect, and Wolof, a tongue native only to a region of Senegal.

Contemporary and folkloric ensembles often represent a mix of drum families, enabling them to perform the rhythms of various ethnic groups by simply bringing out the sound of one drum or another.

“The group may not have a complete Sabar ensemble—they will use a couple of Djembes and a couple of Sowrubas—but the prominent sound will be that of Sabar,” Sunkett explains.

Once documented, the rhythms and performance traditions are recorded for future generations of local drummers, ethnomusicologists, and researchers.

Sunkett tries to apply the teaching of one of his college professors. Sunkett recalls that axiom. “As an explorer,” he said, “if you can’t discover the way things were in the past, at least document the way they are now so that future researchers will know the situation at this particular point in time.”

Nevertheless, Sunkett’s quest for tradition continues. “I’m looking for the old, pure rhythms that use only the drums of each ensemble as they were configured a hundred years ago,” he says. A daunting task, he admits, since traditions become diluted as generations pass.

“Think about it,” Sunkett says. “The people who are closest to a tradition want that tradition to evolve. Each generation wants to offer their own contribution, so things change. However, in Senegal, since this culture is not one that has concrete methods of recording and archiving information, it could very easily disappear. Some of it already has,” he adds. “I might not find someone who is 100 years old, but I should be able to find someone who has had stories passed down through family members.”

In search of such stories, Sunkett leaves the comfortable language of rhythms. The pursuit shifts to foreign tongues such as French, which is spoken throughout Senegal. Dominated by Europeans until 1959, the written history of the area is largely in French. Senegal is presently developing a written language in a native tongue, Wolof.

“I’m trying to develop my skills in the Wolof language,” Sunkett says.

The task is difficult. Wolof is so area-specific that Sunkett’s only textbook comes from the Peace Corps. But by using Wolof, Sunkett intends to learn the stories tucked away in the memories of the elders, some of whom refuse to speak anything but their own language.

There are other twists and turns along the way. Sometimes stories vary. Sunkett recalls repeating a story only to learn that it was wrong to begin with.

“People remembered stories they once had told a researcher. Then they said to me, ‘Well, that’s what we told him. Now, here’s the truth’,” Sunkett laughs. “That’s part of research. You have to look for as many corroborating witnesses as you can for every explanation. If you find two people that give you the same story, then you can start to believe it. If you find two people who give you different stories, then you have to find three more people.”—Vickie Hamilton-Smith