Traditional Drum Music of Benin



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Among the Fon people of Benin, drum ensembles accompany religious and social events such as birth celebrations, funeral rituals, and ancestor worship. An ancient tradition associated with drumming is praising kings and sacred deities. Skin drums are used to sound, or “talk,” the praise-names by reproducing the inflection of the language. This percussion example is played in honor of the vodun deity Dan, the serpent deity, on a sacred drum called dan hun, which means “Dan’s drum.”

Appears in these articles:

Benin; African Religions; Animism

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