The Percussionists preserving culture

Standard People
By PRIDE GONDE Harare-based traditional music group, The Percussionists has embarked on a cultural exchange programme that would see them working with artists from different cultural backgrounds in Africa.

The Percussionists leader Rumbidzai Tapfuma said the group’s unique style of playing traditional drums and singing folk songs was meant to safeguard cultural identity.Speaking to StandardLife& Style after a recent performance at The Mannenberg, Tapfuma said engaging groups from other countries would facilitate exchange of cultural experiences with the aim of marketing Zimbabwe’s culture abroad.

“As The Percussionists, we now have a special relationship with traditional drums, so much that we are fondly referred to as ‘children of Ngoma’ by friends we invite to Zimbabwe,” Tapfuma said.

The Percussionists got the crowd into a groovy mood during a breezy night at The Mannenberg as they featured the stimulating Mozambican poet and dancer Vintani and a member of Mokoomba.

There was an incredible sound of many drums as all members of the group beat their drums into an exciting collective sound that saw many dancing and clapping hands.“The Percussionists is actually not a mere group but a project with the vision to convince people of Africa to appreciate the voice of drum (ngoma) as one of their intangible cultural heritages,” Tapfuma said.

“We fuse poetry, dance, rhythm and voice to the magnificent drumbeat and we are also planning to form a percussion school where we can teach drum-playing skills.“I grew up playing marimba at Chipawo before I fell in love with the traditional drum four years ago,” Tapfuma said.

 

The group’s 2011 theme is Cultural Diversity

The group, which was invited last year to perform at cricket matches pitting Zimbabwe and India at Harare Sports Club, will be on stage at a show at The Basement pub later this month.

“Each year we run with a different theme and this year we are celebrating all our activities under the theme “Cultural Diversity”, and that is why we make sure that in every event we partake in we collaborate with other people from various cultures,” the drummer said.

Tapfuma has shared the stage with the likes of Edith WeUtonga, Selmor and Tendai Manatsa, as well as Chiwoniso Maraire. Although the group will not perform at this year’s Harare International Festival of Arts, Tapfuma and some members of the group will take part at the festival when they collaborate with other artists.

Recently, Tapfuma was in South Africa with the Manatsas and she had a time to be involved in teaching drum-playing lessons.

“It was a three-day retreat and I was doing drum ‘healing’ where people just sit while hearing the drum and end up meditating like I do with my friends when I am home, sitting around a fire and sharing some life experiences,” Tapfuma said.

The pretty lady said the drum determined her identity and she could actually communicate various messages through different beats.