European Bison Natural Hide Drum

From the journal of: The Bardic Artisan™

This drum (click for close up to the left) is so very special to me.  The painting is from the cave of Chauvet Pont D’Arc in France and is dated around 30,000 years old.  Not quite the oldest cave paintings in the world, but fairly close.  You can take an online tour of the entire cave here.

It’s more than just a little difficult to try and replicate the effect of painted stone on bison rawhide and I have to admit it was quite a challenge.  Not to mention the hide I used was from a 3 year old bull which is unbelievably thick.  I had to spend many hours with it stretched on my frame, scraping it to my desired thinness to create the rich, deep tone and resonance of drum I strive for.

I also decided to keep the extra legs (see actual cave painting to the left) because I think the original artist wanted to convey the bison’s movement.  At this time, I am not inclined to add anything else onto the face of the drum, though I may at some point in the future.  I did do some wood burning on the inside of the frame by adding bison tracks going deosil (sunwise).  As of now, I am enjoying watching the vibrations of the legs while drumming.  I’m glad I paid attention to the original artists’ direction.

For me, this proof that Bison roamed Europe is one explanation as to why so many of us feel a strange kinship with these animals.  That is …. IF … you believe as I do, that you carry the collective consciousness of your ancestors in your DNA …

Another interesting bit of proof is that there are still Bison roaming in Russia. In 1999, 3 Bison were left in Finland and 8 from Germany and they were shipped to Russia in an attempt to bring them back from the brink of extinction. For more information visit the WWF website click here.