Afro-Cuban Bata Drum

ABSTRACT

Title of Dissertation:

AFRO-CUBAN BATÁ DRUM AESTHETICS: DEVELOPING INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP TECHNIQUE, SOUND, AND IDENTITY Kenneth George Schweitzer, Doctor of Musical Arts, 2003

Dissertation directed by: Professor Robert C. Provine School of Music The Lucumí religion (also Santería and Regla de Ocha) developed in 19thcentury colonial Cuba, by syncretizing elements of Catholicismwith the Yoruba worship of orisha. When fully initiated, santeros (priests) actively participate in religious ceremonies by periodically being possessed or “mounted” by a patron saint or orisha, usually within the context of a drumming ritual, known as a toque de santo, bembé, or tambor. Within these rituals, there is a clearly defined goal of trance possession, though its manifestation is not thesole measure of success or failure. Rather than focusing on the fleeting, exciting moments that immediately precede the arrival of an orisha in the form of a possession trance, this thesis investigates the entire four- to six-hour musical performance that is central to the ceremony. It examines the brief pauses, the moments of reduced intensity, the slow but deliberate build-ups of energy andexcitement, and even the periods when novices are invited to perform the sacred batá drums, and

places these moments on an equal footing with the more dynamic periods where possession is imminent or in progress. This document approaches Lucumí ritual from the viewpoint of batá drummers, ritual specialists who, during the course of a toque de santo, exercise wide latitude in determining the shape ofthe event. Known as omo Aña (children of the orisha Aña who is manifest in drums and rhythms), batá drummers comprise a fraternity that is accessible only through ritual initiation. Though they are sensitive to the desires of the many participants during a toque de santo, and indeed make their living by satisfying the expectations of their hosts, many of the drummers’ activities are inwardlyfocused on the cultivation and preservation of this fraternity. Occasionally interfering with spirit possession, and other expectations of the participants, these aberrant activities include teaching and learning, developing group identity or signature sound, and achieving a state of intimacy among the musicians known as “communitas.”

AFRO-CUBAN BATÁ DRUM AESTHETICS: DEVELOPING INDIVIDUAL ANDGROUP TECHNIQUE, SOUND, AND IDENTITY by Kenneth George Schweitzer

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts 2003

Advisory Committee: Professor Robert C. Provine, Chair Mr. F. Anthony Ames Professor Jósef Pacholczyk Professor Juan CarlosQuintero-Herencia Mr. John Tafoya

©Copyright by Kenneth George Schweitzer 2003

To Francisco “Pancho Quinto” Mora

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many, many wonderful people who have supported and guided me through this project. I express my deepest gratitude to my family, teachers, colleagues, and friends for their words of encouragement, unquestioning faith in my abilities, and patience throughwhat seemed like an endless endeavor. To this, I add a few specific thanks. I would like to thank all my batá teachers, especially Pancho Quinto, my padrino, for teaching me to play batá from my heart; Steve Bloom for nine years of unfailing support, and for paving my road with countless introductions both in the United States and Cuba; David Font, for keeping my conclusions and writing true to theSantería faith and for freely sharing his thoughts; and Pedrito Martinez, my first Cuban teacher, for hours of selfless instruction. Thanks also to Alberto Villareal, Angel Bolaños, Ezequiel Torres, Juan “El Negro” Raymat, Jesus “Cusito” Lorenzo, Rubén Bulnes and Michael Spiro. I would also like to thank the many other batá drummers I met along my path, some of whom I only got to know through...