Product Description

In this long-awaited, lavishly illustrated book, drummer Layne Redmond presents an empowering narrative history of the sacred drum in the ancient Goddess civilization, using her extensive collection of images gathered during more than five years of research and travel in the Mideast and Europe. 80 photos & drawings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #113736 in Books
• Published on: 1997-05-27
• Released on: 1997-05-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Library Journal
A drummer herself who has taught and performed on the frame drum for many years, Redmond has written an engaging work on the history and meaning of female drumming in ancient spiritual traditions. She bases her work on her travels to ancient sites and other research, tracing the role of sacred drumming from as far back as the Paleolithic era (in the worship of the "Great Mother" or "Great Goddess") and in ancient civilizations in the Near East, India, Greece, and Rome. Along the way, she unearths the first representation of a framed drum at Catal Huyuk (in present-day Turkey), ca. 5600 B.C.E. Redmond even takes us through the rise of Christianity, which silenced both women and drumming in worship, then concludes with the reappearance of drumming in the modern age and its importance as a medium for transformation. Well documented, with an excellent bibliography, this multifaceted study will have great appeal for all readers and especially for music and women's studies collections.?Joan W. Gartland, Detroit P.L.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Women's spirituality circles have taken to drumming in a big way. Redmond has been a leader in reintroducing the frame drum, which, she persuasively argues, has been an instrument of spiritual transformation for millennia. Her marvelous book brings together mythology, history and prehistory, personal experience, musical lore, and scientific information on the healthful effects of drumming. Scores of illustrations show stately goddesses holding frame drums, wild maenads tossing their heads as they pound, and priestesses sanctifying space with the rhythms they beat. Redmond's own story of learning drumming in a society in which women are still actively discouraged from taking up the drums is a paradigm of female experience. Wise and passionate, Redmond's book will find a ready audience, made up not only of those who have attended her popular workshops but also of other women drawn to the ecstatic pulse of the drum. Patricia Monaghan

From the Inside Flap
In this long-awaited, lavishly illustrated book, drummer Layne Redmond presents an empowering narrative history of the sacred drum in the ancient Goddess civilization, using her extensive collection of images gathered during more than five years of research and travel in the Mideast and Europe. 80 photos & drawings.

Customer Reviews

Just ok
It was alright but not my favorite book. The author has a very strong bais for women & against men that comes across in her writing, which is what most turns me off from her work.

Layne ignores all the African history of rhythm (the title does claim "a spiritual history of rhythm"). Since most of what I've read from the African tradition is from males, I'm not surprised at the ommision.

I disagree with the idea that the "first" drummers were women. I believe rhythm is as old as life & that humans, regardless of gender, have been participating & enjoying it naturally whether through drumming, clapping hands, clicking sticks, or stomping feet while sitting or dancing.

you should hear some frame drums being played
Some (most?) of the historical antecedants quoted by Redmond about matriarchal societies in the past may be rather dubious. Of quite uncertain scholarship or attribution. And this has been amply echoed by other reviewers. But if you can look past some of the mystical musings, there is a nice synopsis of frame drums and how they have arisen independently in different societies over time.

However, the book by its very nature, cannot convey a full appreciation of its subject. If you have never heard a frame drum, then it looks just like a very simple, open ended, handheld drum. Surely such a thing could only produce one note? Yet, recently, I had the pleasure of hearing a former student of Redmond's play in a Long Beach coffeehouse. The student played solo; she sang and for each song, used a frame drum. Making each drum emit several notes, in a syncopated manner that was quite pleasing to the ear. Though solo, it seemed like the singer was accompanied by a separate drummer.

In this light, the book's explanations of frame drums can be better appreciated. Along with the photos of various drums. They look simple enough. But there are subtleties to how richly they can be played, that Redmond's text can only allude to.

When the Drummers were Women
I totally recommend anything by Layne Redmond. This book is really good and is a MUST read for women on an earth based spiritual path, as well as for women who are into drumming.

Please consider her cds also. :::::smile:::::