Post by Stephen on Oct 29, 2006 17:01:08 GMT -5
Dear Drumming Community,
Greetings!
I just celebrated my 60th birthday on September 29, 2006. Now I am amongst the elders of the World Drumming Community. Baba Olatundji and Ladji Camara are gone; Mamadou Faraba, one of the most knowledgeable Djembefola in West Africa, recently passed away. Everyday we are losing more treasures. Most of the traditional musical instruments have vanished and many are disappearing along with the rituals, dances, and costumes. We need a participatory action-research to remedy this phenomenon.
We are creating a Survival School for Traditional African Culture in Mali, West Africa. The name of the center is "Farafina Donia" which translates into "African Knowledge." This school will be the door of the entrance and a link between West Africa and the Drumming Community outside of the continent.
A friend once said to me, "If each drummer contributed to buy a 'brick,' you should accomplish your mission." Can you imagine yourself sharing knowledge with another drummer coming from around the world in a "djembe country" like Mali? Your collaboration will help preserve traditions which are dying each and every day.
Farafina Donia, founded by Yaya Diallo, Malian musician and author of "The Healing Drum," is registered as a 501C(3) non-profit corporation iin the U.S.A. which supports the work of it's counterpart in Mali. Our goal is to create a survival school for all the traditional cultures of Mali as well as African culture in general encompassing music, dance, and traditional and Western medicine. In addition, we will focus attention on education regarding health issues of epidemic proportions. It is the duty and responsibility of African people to study, review, identify, target, and acknowledge those traditions that are dangerous to humanity today.
It is sad that today some people are ashamed to speak their mother tongue in public. Some elders do not trust young people so they refuse to teach them what they know. We seek to rehabilitate minority cultures and restore their traditions.
Our mission is to seek ways to harmonize the past and the present for a better future, to stop cultural extinction or ethnocide, to give elders the right to speak and to be heard, and to look to traditions for solutions to today's problems. We believe societal transformation is only possible through a synergistic process that begins with a group of individuals, then extends to communities, and finally alters the fabric of society as a whole.
We welcome your participation as well as your encouragement and support. As a member of the African drumming community, a friend or a well-wisher you can "buy your brick" today with the purchase of a Farafina Donia tee-Shirt available in all sizes (yellow or grey) or a contribution by cheque to Farafina Donia. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.
Tee-shirt orders are $25.00 each plus shipping. Orders are accepted by email and post. You may call 502-459-0902 for further information.
Kindly request your Farafina Donia tee-shirts by mail at:
Farafina DoniaTrust
1414 Techny Lane
Louisville KY 40222
and by email at farafina_donia@att.net
Please email, call or write now while it is fresh in your mind. The seed you plant today provides for your future and coming generations.
Peace,
Eneechay
Yaya Diallo
Note:
Yaya Diallo, musician, author, and chemist, grew up in traditional African village life going through all of the spiritual initiations of his culture. On a scholarship, Yaya Diallo arrived in Montreal, Quebec where he completed his degree in Chemistry at the University of Montreal in 1973. Following his essence and his passion Yaya again turned to the music and dance which sustained him. Yaya's debut recording of the album "Nangape" in 1980 brought him international recognition. The elders in Mali exclaimed that the performance on this album displayed "knowledge in his hands" which they did not think continued to exist. In addition to several other recordings Yaya Diallo is well known for his writings, in particular, "The Healing Drum: African Wisdom Teachings," published in 1989 and available through bookstores today.
It has been my pleasure to have produced Yaya Diallo's debut album and his latest release "Live at Club Soda" where he transposes music for traditional instruments to saxophone and electric violin with his band "Kanza."
From the rural village to the urban setting in North America Yaya Diallo provides a bridge in cultures with his diverse background and intimate knowledge of African traditions. I hope you feel the same passion to answer his call and join with him in doing what we can to share the African traditions with present and future generations.
All the best,
Stephen Conroy, Producer/Publisher
Yaya Diallo's Traditional & Upbeat Kanza West African Music
Onzou Records, www.onzou.com
Greetings!
I just celebrated my 60th birthday on September 29, 2006. Now I am amongst the elders of the World Drumming Community. Baba Olatundji and Ladji Camara are gone; Mamadou Faraba, one of the most knowledgeable Djembefola in West Africa, recently passed away. Everyday we are losing more treasures. Most of the traditional musical instruments have vanished and many are disappearing along with the rituals, dances, and costumes. We need a participatory action-research to remedy this phenomenon.
We are creating a Survival School for Traditional African Culture in Mali, West Africa. The name of the center is "Farafina Donia" which translates into "African Knowledge." This school will be the door of the entrance and a link between West Africa and the Drumming Community outside of the continent.
A friend once said to me, "If each drummer contributed to buy a 'brick,' you should accomplish your mission." Can you imagine yourself sharing knowledge with another drummer coming from around the world in a "djembe country" like Mali? Your collaboration will help preserve traditions which are dying each and every day.
Farafina Donia, founded by Yaya Diallo, Malian musician and author of "The Healing Drum," is registered as a 501C(3) non-profit corporation iin the U.S.A. which supports the work of it's counterpart in Mali. Our goal is to create a survival school for all the traditional cultures of Mali as well as African culture in general encompassing music, dance, and traditional and Western medicine. In addition, we will focus attention on education regarding health issues of epidemic proportions. It is the duty and responsibility of African people to study, review, identify, target, and acknowledge those traditions that are dangerous to humanity today.
It is sad that today some people are ashamed to speak their mother tongue in public. Some elders do not trust young people so they refuse to teach them what they know. We seek to rehabilitate minority cultures and restore their traditions.
Our mission is to seek ways to harmonize the past and the present for a better future, to stop cultural extinction or ethnocide, to give elders the right to speak and to be heard, and to look to traditions for solutions to today's problems. We believe societal transformation is only possible through a synergistic process that begins with a group of individuals, then extends to communities, and finally alters the fabric of society as a whole.
We welcome your participation as well as your encouragement and support. As a member of the African drumming community, a friend or a well-wisher you can "buy your brick" today with the purchase of a Farafina Donia tee-Shirt available in all sizes (yellow or grey) or a contribution by cheque to Farafina Donia. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.
Tee-shirt orders are $25.00 each plus shipping. Orders are accepted by email and post. You may call 502-459-0902 for further information.
Kindly request your Farafina Donia tee-shirts by mail at:
Farafina DoniaTrust
1414 Techny Lane
Louisville KY 40222
and by email at farafina_donia@att.net
Please email, call or write now while it is fresh in your mind. The seed you plant today provides for your future and coming generations.
Peace,
Eneechay
Yaya Diallo
Note:
Yaya Diallo, musician, author, and chemist, grew up in traditional African village life going through all of the spiritual initiations of his culture. On a scholarship, Yaya Diallo arrived in Montreal, Quebec where he completed his degree in Chemistry at the University of Montreal in 1973. Following his essence and his passion Yaya again turned to the music and dance which sustained him. Yaya's debut recording of the album "Nangape" in 1980 brought him international recognition. The elders in Mali exclaimed that the performance on this album displayed "knowledge in his hands" which they did not think continued to exist. In addition to several other recordings Yaya Diallo is well known for his writings, in particular, "The Healing Drum: African Wisdom Teachings," published in 1989 and available through bookstores today.
It has been my pleasure to have produced Yaya Diallo's debut album and his latest release "Live at Club Soda" where he transposes music for traditional instruments to saxophone and electric violin with his band "Kanza."
From the rural village to the urban setting in North America Yaya Diallo provides a bridge in cultures with his diverse background and intimate knowledge of African traditions. I hope you feel the same passion to answer his call and join with him in doing what we can to share the African traditions with present and future generations.
All the best,
Stephen Conroy, Producer/Publisher
Yaya Diallo's Traditional & Upbeat Kanza West African Music
Onzou Records, www.onzou.com