 |
Shaman Drums and Shaman RattlesThe results are always the amazing. The painted images remind me of my spiritual connection. I enjoy making nonordinary drums -- like a Buffalo drum with fur -- or a Saami drum reproduction from hundreds of years ago -- or a Wolf drum totem. Those are exciting and challenging projects. |
 |
Home
Drums Rattles Drum Kits Rattle Kits Sound Samples & CDs |
|||||||||||
|
Drums in the image below: Eleven round hand drums
...An oval buffalo hand drum ...A moose powwow drum ...Four drum beaters |
Rattles in the image below: Nine rawhide rattles
...A large gourd rattle ...A northwest coast reproduction rattle |
 |
|
| The two images below are of a Cougar Drum, something rare and difficult to obtain. This hide has some of the fur on it, and you can see a bit of that at the lower right in the second picture. The lacing for this drum was created from 360 feet of artificial sinew, which is nearly a full 8-ounce roll. | |
 |
 |
| The two images below are steps in the creation of a Fox Drum, a special project for a customer. The first picture shows the fox face securely sewn to the inside of the hoop. The second picture is the hoop wrapped with a buffalo drumskin and the addition of a buffalo-lacing handle. | |
 |
 |
| The two images below are of a unique moose drum. Its natural markings (a little faint in the left photo) are reminiscent of a petroglyph or a cave painting. I made this drum for a special customer, and the unrivaled pattern indicates to me that this customer has powerful spiritual allies. | |
 |
 |
| The two images below are of special hair-on drums. The first drum is buffalo, and the second is an appaloosa horse. These drums are a little challenging to make, but their visual appeal is second to none. Note that I shaved the center of the appaloosa for better sound, but I kept its one-of-a-kind pattern intact. | |
 |
 |
| The two drums below are painted hand drums. I painted them to acknowledge and support my shamanic allies. These images assist me with my shamanic journeys and strengthen my journey experiences. | |
 |
 |
| The two images below have six drums and are included to show the great diversity of hides from the same kind of animal. The first three drums are Buffalo hides, one light, one dark, and one with the hair still on. The second three drums are Bear hides and have three different shades of hide. | |
 |
 |
| The final two images below are a Grizzly Bear Rattle and a Grizzly Bear Drum Beater, both of which come from a tannery reject hide. The rattle head is 10 inches across and the beater head is 8 inches across! This drum beater made a "great swishing sound" just before it came in contact with the drum head. | |
 |
 |
| This image has twenty-eight Buffalo Drumskins that range from 20 inches to 32 inches across. For reference, there are a drum 12 inches in diameter and drum hoops 14, 16, 18, 20, and 24 inches in diameter. Each drumskin has some 30 feet of Buffalo lacing, so there is more than 800 feet of lacing here, all hand cut. |
 |
| This image has seventy pairs of Elk Rattle Heads. Note that Elk (like all hides) comes in a variety of colors, thicknesses, patterns, and translucency. There is a 17-inch drum in the middle of the image for reference. |
 |
| Finally, here is a picture of my ever-present helper. Pumpkin-the-cat is sitting in a 16-inch-by-20-inch oval hoop that is drying after being soaked and shaped. The long clamp helps the hoop maintain its new shape until it is wrapped with a drumskin. |
 |
 |
at the left to go to the Shamanic Art: Ceremonial Drums and Rattles home page. |
P.O. Box 11, Elbing, KS 67041 (316) 799-2989 drummaker@beardrum.com |
|