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Ba Tonga
Drums
Zambia -
Zimbabwe
Budima
Funeral Drums of the BaTonga
Ba Tonka Celebration - Zambia - 1991
The Batonga (Batonka - Ba Tonka - Batonga) had lived for centuries
along the north and south bank of the
Zambezi River, known locally as Gwembe. They
currently live on either side of Lake Kariba. In
1960, the Kariba dam hydroelectric project was completed, creating the
largest manmade lake or reservoir ever built. The Gwembe Valley was
flooded and the Ba Tonka relocated by rising waters (sometimes
forcibly). The lake created a physical separation. Villagers who
once looked across the river at each other or went there to farm,
now had to travel up to 40 kilometres across by boat. (20 miles).
This division as further reinforced when the lake itself was divided
into the nations of Zambia and Zimbabwe. (Prior to this the region
had been a part of the British Federation of
Rhodesia and Nyasaland.)
Lake Karbia - Zambia Top -
Zimbabwe Bottom - Dam wall Right
The Ba Tonga nation had been divided by exposure to European
colonial rule like no other tribe on the African continent. Half a
century later, and despite
the turbulence of alternating political
and economic upheavals, the Ba
Tonga of Zambia and Zimbabwe remain a recognizable ethnic
group. A single uniting force that drove a
people to bind, were their communally owned funeral drums.
Our trio of BaTonga
Budima Drums - which include a rare mother
drum.
African Drums
- Ba
Tonga Funeral Drums
African drums or membranophones, produce
sound by way of vibrating a stretched
membrane, usually hide.
Music plays a
significant role in the life of the
Ba Tonka community. Drumming is by far their
most important musical activity. It provides
a mode for personal expression and a means of communication between
people, villages and the spiritual world.
The trio of drums on offer (above and
further down) are funeral drums called Budima.
This shape is unique to the Tonga people and
as such, they are their most recognizable
drum form. The center example is a rare
Mother Drum, which is always the largest
of a set numbering up to 20. Drums are
sheltered in communal structure as below.
Ba Tonka
Drums in Communal Storage - Zimbabwe - 1991
The reverse side of
our trio of Ba Tonka Drums
Funeral drums are not only played at
funerals. Gallery Ezakwantu photographed
many sets that came together during a
Zambian political rally in 1991. President
Kaunda (waving his pathetic trademark white
handkerchief) made an appearance - while
villagers were trucked in with drum sets
from 100 kilometres away. The good president
left fifty 200 litre drums of Chibuku - a local African millet beer - which
evolved into a 3 day party. We made
a video on old VHS tape, which we intend to
convert and add to this page! In the
meantime, enjoy the next picture, as well as
the uppermost and very last in this section.
Even in such an atmosphere, with maybe 200
drums present, we failed to purchase one.
The reason?
Ba Tonka UNIP Rally - Zambia - 1991
Funeral drums were traditionally made from a
tree that grew along the banks of the
Zambezi river. The trees lived up to 300
years, but were submerged by Lake Kariba.
Unable to make a replacement, people became
reluctant to sell even the smallest
examples. Adding to the difficulty of a
purchase, the drums were not owned by
individuals, but collectively by a number of
villages. Invariably, one or more village
elders were not to be found, which made it
impossible to arrive at consensus. This
matter of fact explanation - goes far to
confirm that the traditions and culture of
the Gwembe Ba Tonga, are intricately bound
in a large part, by funeral drums.
Click thumbnails
below to view larger
images of our drum trio offered as a set.
Clive Venning collected these drums during
the 1980's. At the time, Clive was an
aspiring photographer working in the area.
He made numerous trips and photographically
detailed the tribal peoples on both sides of
the Zambezi / Lake Kariba.
This is the largest of the three Tonga
Budima drums - known as the Mother
drum. Adding to her character, the old
partially painted base was covered in hide.
There is also a charming tin repair on the
body. This drum stands at + - 90 cms
tall and almost 60 cms wide. (+ - 35 x 24
inches)
Click thumbnails
above to view larger
images of our drum trio offered as a set.
With few exceptions, men make and play Ba
Tonka drums. Each drummer plays
one drum. They have a single pegged hide skin
and stand on a hollow pedestal, like a
goblet. When the crowd moves, the drummer
carries the drum with a sling over the
shoulder. Visually stimulating historic
theatrical productions are enacted. Other
men blow funeral whistles, made of horn or
wood. Women provide accompaniment
by clapping their hands and shaking rattles
and they are the main singers.
Ba Tonga Celebration - Zambia - Circa 1990
Click
here to
view two fine Ba Tonka stools in our
African Thrones -
Stools - Chairs section.
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