A review of the importance of "conga" drums for African Americans historically and in modern music.

1. AFRICAN AMERICANS
CONGA DRUMS
Brief review
HISTORY AND AMERICAN MUSIC

2. THOMAS ATKINSON
M.A. ED

3. BIO
 Uncle of Eric Atkinson
 Teacher of multiple subjects for 30 years.
Mostly alternative education For elementary thru
adults. Retired two years ago.
 Student of life and Humanities and Afrocentric
studies
 Musician percussion, vocals, guitar, keyboard,
NAF
 Gardening, photography, reading, travel
 Live learn love laugh
 Music started training 3rd grade played thru Jr
college

4.  Became paraplegic due to single car roll over
which broke my back in April 1975.Afterwhich, I
transitioned to hand drums and percussions. It
was not much of a transition though, since I was
already trained from years of school percussion.
By August of that year I was in a band playing
congas. I already had the A.A. went back to
school and pecked away at college earned a B.A.
and Teaching credentials in 1987 from CSUSB.
M.A. From Claremont in 1997.
 Trained under 3rd generation Cuban Master
drummer Long John Oliva

5. In the beginning
 All aboriginal people drum especially on the African
continent
 Drums serve the purpose of providing music for
ceremonies spiritual and social, seasonal
celebrations
 They help with the bonding of the community
 They were also used for communication…. as in
talking drums
 Many different types of drums male and female and
child drums
 Family connection is reflected in three drum sets of
mother father and child

6.  “It is the expansion and contraction in the universe that
produces the vibration and the pulsation that causes life
to be; and that’s why the drum is such a powerful
instrument in Africa, because the drum represents the
notion of the initial vibration energy; that every vibration
you make is perpetuated throughout time...it never
ceases to be.”
 Prof James Small
 Photo: Artist Unknown

7. NGOMAS/ MAKUTAS

9.  Conga heads were originally made from
rawhide. Rawhide is still the most popular
material for heads, but today, synthetic
heads, made of plastics & other materials,
are also available.
 The skin heads of the original congas
were nailed to the wooden shell; before
each performance the nailed the heads
where heated by a brazier to obtain the
desired tension. Today, the skin is held in
place by a set of rings & tuning lugs,
which also serve to adjust the tension.

10. NGOMAS aka MAKUTAS

12.  The conga is a descendant of conical shaped drums
called Makuta or Ngoma.
 The name changed via Europeans who decided
they came from the area of Africa the Congo
 Or there was a dance craze out of Cuba called the
conga in which the ngoma was featured
 The conga has gone through several changes in
form and materials since it was originally created.
Today's congas are more rounded than its conical
ancestor. The conga was originally made from
wood, but is available today in fiberglass as well.

13. Drum design, as the examples show (8A-8D) did not
change very much
in their transplantation from Africa to Haiti and Thompson
claims that this
goes beyond superficial identities in material and design to
"method ortuning" and "similarities of meter, tempo and
attack." There are Petro drums, representing the two major
branches of voodoo. The Rada is for agricultural rites and
derived from the Yoruba/Dahomean ritual complex whereas
the Petro or Petro-Lemba is Kongo/Angola intluenced-
Lemba for
a North Kongo cult of that name; Petro from Pedro, a
messianic figure who pg 398 egypt child of africa Van
Sertima on voodoo

14. Drum body

16. DJEMBE CONGA

17. Rotten Christopher Columbus
 When Columbus returned in 1493 he brought a force
of 17 ships. He began to implement slavery and
mass-extermination of the Taino population of the
Caribbean. Within three years five million were dead.
Fifty years later the Spanish census recorded only
200 living! Las Casas, the primary historian of the
Columbian era, writes of numerous accounts of the
horrendous acts that the Spanish colonists inflicted
upon the indigenous people, which included hanging
them en masse, roasting them on spits, hacking their
children into pieces to be used as dog food, and the
list continues.
 Which led to the African MAAFA due to the genocide
of the native aboriginals in the Americas

18. Spanish Christians at work

19. Looking kind and benevolent C.C.

20.  Setting up shop on the large island he called Espanola
(today Haiti and the Dominican Republic), he promptly
instituted policies of slavery (encomiendo) and
systematic extermination against the native Taino
population.[6] Columbus’ programs reduced Taino
numbers from as many as 8 million at the outset of his
regime to about 3 million in 1496.[7] Perhaps 100,00
were left by the time of the governor’s departure. His
policies, however, remained, with the result that by 1514
the Spanish census of the island showed barely 22,000
Indians remaining alive. In 1542, only two hundred were
recorded.[8] Thereafter, they were considered extinct, as
were Indians throughout the Caribbean Basin, an
aggregate population which totaled more than 15 million
at the point of first contact with the Admiral of the Ocean
Sea, as Columbus was known.[9]
http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/ward-churchill-
deconstructing-the-columbus-myth

21. Europeans arrival effect
 By the time Christopher Columbus reached the
Caribbean in 1492, historians estimate that there
were 10 million indigenous peoples living in U.S.
territory. But by 1900, the number had reduced to
less than 300,000.
 European expansion into North America – whether to
find gold, escape religious persecution or start a new
life – led to the destruction of Native American
livelihoods. Disease was a major killer, followed by
malnutrition. Colonists in search of gold staged
violent ambushes on tribal villages, fueling animosity
with Natives. Several wars broke out between tribes
and American settlers which led to large death tolls,
land dispossession, oppression and blatant racism.

22. Slavery in the Americas begins
 Having committed genocide against the native
aboriginal workforce The Europeans needed slaves
and they; having the blessing of the Holy Catholic
Church colluded with the Jewish Bankers and the
Mohammedans(Muslims).
 The three religions allowed for such abuses of
cultural others infidels, gentiles or goyim and
“savages” or pagans
 And so they began to raid Africa
 How did native Africans view the Europeans Jews
Arabic slavers? Two Thousand Seasons reading.

24. Slavery numbers
 A total of about 600,000 slaves were imported into the
Thirteen Colonies and the U.S, constituting 6% of the
twelve million slaves brought from Africa to the
Americas. The great majority of African slaves were
transported to sugar colonies in the Caribbean and to
Brazil.
 Slavery in the United States - Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_StatesWiki
pedia
 Well over 90 percent of African slaves were imported into
the Caribbean and South America. Only about 6 percent
of imports went directly to British North America. Yet by
1825, the U.S. had a quarter of blacks in the New World.
10-20% did not survive the middle passage… 4 million
dead.

25. Mutiny and escape
 Among the untold history are the stories of the
number of mutinies by Africans during the Middle
Passage as well as the numbers of revolts once they
arrived. This is contray to the line that Africans just
accepted slavery.
 The slavers were bringing warriors and doctors and
farmers, builders, medicine men and women,
mothers fathers ands kids. Then brutalizing them into
“accepting “ their lot
 There were many mutinies as well as revolts in the
early years of bringing the Africans i.e. Amistad and
Stono
 http://whgbetc.com/mind/slave_revolts_2.html 16
other revolts

26. From the start
 San Miguel de Gualdape
 The first enslaved Africans arrived in what is now the United
States as part of the San Miguel de Gualdape colony (most
likely located in the Winyah Bay area of present-day South
Carolina), founded by Spanish explorer Lucas Vásquez de
Ayllón in 1526. On October 18, 1526, Ayllón died and the
colony was almost immediately disrupted by a fight over
leadership, during which the slaves revolted and fled the
colony to seek refuge among local Native Americans.[15] Many
of the colonists died shortly afterwards of an epidemic, and the
colony was abandoned, leaving the escaped enslaved
Africans behind in what is now South Carolina. In addition to
being the first instance of enslaved Africans in the United
States, San Miguel de Guadalpe was also the first
documented slave rebellion on North American soil.


27.  40 years later the successful Spanish colonization
of the Florida peninsula began at St. Augustine in
1565. The Spanish colonists enjoyed a brief period
of relative stability before Florida came under attack
from resentful Native Americans and ambitious
English colonists to the north in the 17th century.
Spain's last-minute entry into the French and Indian
War on the side of France cost it Florida, which the
British acquired through the first Treaty of Paris in
1763. After 20 years of British rule, however, Florida
was returned to Spain as part of the second Treaty
of Paris, which ended the American Revolution in
1783. Spain ceded the problem to the U S at no cost
on Febuary 22, 1819.
 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-us-
acquires-spanish-florida

28.  The Spanish had Florida and they had the problem of
fighting the hundreds of Africans who had escaped and
joined the last of the Native Aboriginals deep in the
everglades. They became known as Seminoles.
 They set up communities and began to live as they did
before being captured. They drummed and built the
sense of connection camaraderie amongst themselves.
They also organized to fight.
http://whgbetc.com/mind/slave_revolts_2.html
 . The first war on U S soil was the Seminole
Wars, (1817–18, 1835–42, 1855–58), three conflicts
between the United States and the Seminole Indians of
Florida in the period before the American Civil War, that
ultimately resulted in the opening of the Seminole’s
desirable land for white exploitation and settlement. In
the end many Seminoles assimilated and lost their drums
to become civilized and “ Christian”. African drums are
lost again except for the outliers who held onto their
ways and spirituality /religion.

29. VOO DOO DRUMS
 Long before acquiring Florida American slavers had
learned from Spain experience. The drums they
once let their slave play had to be taken away as a
means of better controlling the slave. The Slavers
learned that the Africans were communicating with
the drums and that certain beats were war drums.
So except for the outliers i.e. Africans/Seminoles the
drums were not to be had by the masses. Then after
the Seminole wars they were forced back
underground except for Santeria, Vous Dou (voo
doo), Hoo Doo practitioners

30. Voodoo drums

31. Jungle type drum played by Dizzy Gillespies drummer Chano
Pozo. He beats on the drum with his hands instead of sticks

32. What Dizzy and others started
 Dizzy being one of Americas premier musicians
traveled the world and in particular had many gigs in
Cuba. There he mingled with the people andenjoyed
many a rumba. He met Chano Pozo via Mario Bauza
and thought he may be on to something with fusing
the beats those guys played on those long tom
toms.Chano came to New York and hooked up with
Dizzy,where they gave birth to Latin Jazz or Cubop.
 It worked very well and opened the door for many
others. To name a few… Machito and the Afro-
Cubans, Candido Cameron, Mongo Santamaria,
Franciso Aguabella, Armando Peraza, Pancho
Quinto and Desi Arnez aka Ricky Ricardo husband
to Lucille Ball.

33. Ricky Ricardo aka Desi Arnaz

34. IMPACT
 The conga derived its importance because of the
way its music could speak to musicians and
listeners. Born from Cuban percussionists, the
conga's impact lies in its cultural ties with Cuban
traditional and commercial music and its present use
in popular Carnival, Mardi Gras, or night club music
in the United States. With the different strokes which
can be applied during the playing of the drums, the
conga can be felt melodically, harmonically and
rhythmically through the manipulations of the
performers. This carved out an important niche
within the Cuban and African ensembles which
feature its unique and personal sounds.

35.  The conga has also been featured in the fusion of Latin
and Jazz music. As Latin-Jazz composers utilized the
elements of Samba and Bossa Nova in the rhythmic
aspects of their music, the use of conga drums defined
the musical arrangements by such artists as Cal Tjader,
Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto. In Latin jazz
bands, percussion is a prominent element and thus the
conga becomes an integral part of the Latin percussion
section. Long-time Duke Ellington arranger, Maurice
Peress, used conga drums in his orchestral version of
Ellington's Jazz suite, Three Black Kings. Jazz trumpeter,
Dizzy Gillespie used conga drums in his arrangements in
the late 1940s when he collaborated with Cuban conga
virtuoso, Chano Pozo resulting in a style referred to by
some as "Cubop.“ Mongo Santamaria sold thousands of
records.

36. Back in the mainstream
 In the United States, Desi Arnez was among the first mainstream
artists to introduce the conga-type drum to a larger audience
though the medium of television. Candido Camero is a Cuban
percussionist played congas for many Afro-Cuban jazz acts since
the 1950s. In later popular music the conga became an important
aspect of percussion sections largely due to the influence of
guitarist Carlos Santana who synthesized Latin musical elements
with more traditional pop elements. Other popular Latin artists
who used congas and Latin percussion in their arrangements
include Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez and
Marc Anthony. The popular rock-jazz band Chicago added
Brazilian percussionist, Laudir DeOliveira to the group's line-up in
1974 and used conga drums in a number of their hit songs
including Call on Me. The Detroit-based R & B band, Rare Earth
used conga drums prominently in several of their chart-topping
hits for Motown Records, including I Just Want to Celebrate, Hey,
Big Brother, and Get Ready. The Motown standard, Standing in
the Shadows of Love features the conga work of Eddie "Bongo"
Brown, a musician who performed on many other Motown tracks.

37. Carlos Santana percussion section

38.  Three conga head sizes emerged from the conical African drum.
 The name of the head sizes gives insight to that drum’s functions. For
instance, even today, the names describe the drums pitch, tempos &
rhythms it will play.
 Quinto, Conga & Tumbadora or Tumba are the three sizes.
 The Quinto is the high pitched, small head conga. It is the solo drum,
played by soloists.
 The Quinto is as the singer of the band. The quinto is used to drum a
melody; to accent; to sing, laugh & cry.
 The Conga is the mid-range, medium head conga. It plays the middle
parts of three-part rhythms.
 The Conga is the most versatile size. Although it is theoretically
intended for the middle drum parts, in practice it is also used to play
high drum & low drum parts. The Conga size is sometimes referred to
as the Segundo.
 The Tumba is the low pitched, large head conga. The Tumba plays the
low drum rhythm parts. Tumba is short for Tumbadora. The Tumba is
sometimes referred to as the Salidor.
 When the conga was first becoming popular congeros (conga players)
would play only one drum at a time. Hence the rhythm parts were
strongly assigned and the players were experts in their parts.
 As players developed and mastered conga playing techniques the
music and rhythm arrangements grew with increasing complexity.
Within this development the congeros began playing two & three
drums simultaneously.

39. From Jungle drums

40. MODERN NGOMA PLAYERS

41. To modern Conga drumming

42. FOR FURTHER LEARNING
 Chancellor Williams Destruction of African Civilization
 Ivan Van Sertima They Came Before Columbus
 Dr. Yosef Ben Jochanan all historical
 John H. Clarke Columbus and the African
Holocaust
 Muata Ashby all spirituality African Yoga
 Marimba Ani Yurugu: An African Centered
Critique of European Cultural Thought
 J.A. Rogers Worlds Great Men Of Color Vol 1
 John G Jackson Christianity Before Christ
 Walter Williams The Historical Origin of Christianity
 Ayi Kwei Armah Two Thousand Seasons
also posted on SLIDE SHARE is the black towns project