Page 180 - A People Called Afrika

A PEOPLE CALLED AFRIKA

Ancient Afrikans have practiced various forms of art, some of
the earliest being rock paintings, pottery, jewelry, textiles, met-
alwork, sculpture, architecture, masks, body decoration, carv-
ings, music, dance and lots more. To them music as a form of
art was beyond just fun and entertainment, even though they
also used it for such, but it was more for spiritual connections
to deeper realities. They used music especially for communi-
cation with higher powers and for worship. Music also played
a huge role in communication between clans and villages.

Some 25 or so years ago, Samuel and his dad were living in
a village somewhere in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, where his
father was pastoring a very small church. In that small town,
whenever there was an announcement to be made, maybe
for a town hall meeting, the town crier would go around the
entire town hitting his gong to get the attention of the peo-
ple as he made his announcement. That is not such an an-
cient time but it makes for a useful and relatable example.

Ancient Afrikans and even some of the modern-day Afrikans,
have understanding of what art and music does and have given
what it takes to keep such energies. Of note is the Pokomo
Tribe of Tana River at the coast of Kenya, who are known for
their musical and rhythmic prowess. In fact a Pokomo lulla-
by was re-purposed into Kenya’s national anthem at faux-in-
dependence. As part of their rich culture and traditions, the
Pokomo make reference to the Ngadji, a massive drum taller
than any man, made from the hollowed out trunk of the mzin-
ga tree. The hollowed out trunk then had a cow hide stretched
across the opening. The Ngadji was said to be the earthly rep-
resentation of the god that the Pokomo people worshiped and
that when it was struck, it made the sound of a roaring lion. It

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