Ancestral Drumming

Evren Ryu
Oct 14
2 min read

Day 7 – The Heartbeat of the Island

Before words, before written prayer, there was the drum.

For the Taíno people of Borikén, rhythm was sacred language — a heartbeat that spoke directly to the spirits. When the drums sounded, the people gathered, danced, and entered a shared trance guided by the Behique, who knew how to call the winds, summon the rain, and open pathways between worlds.

🥁 The Drum as a Spirit Vessel

Each drum was alive. It was treated as a being with breath and presence. Animal hide, wood, and fire were joined through ritual — the hide purified by smoke, the wood blessed with water and song. The finished drum wasn’t an instrument; it was an altar. When the Behique struck the surface, the sound was both heartbeat and invocation.

These rhythms weren’t random — they were encoded prayers.

Some called the rain, others honored ancestors, and others opened gateways to trance and vision. The sound wove community together in one pulse: human, earth, and spirit moving as one.

🌕 Moon Rhythms & Emotional Release

The Last Quarter Moon in Cancer carries the same medicine — it invites release through movement and emotion. Cancer, ruled by the Moon and the element of water, teaches that true strength comes from feeling deeply. When we drum under this energy, every beat becomes an exhale of old emotion, every vibration a wave of clearing.

🔥 Drum Spirit Painting: Rhythm Made Visible

When I create my Drum Spirit Paintings, I imagine what the Behique might have seen — symbols alive with motion and color. Each stroke is a prayer, each pattern a sound made visible.

These drums are meant to be played, yes, but also to listen.

They remind us that the drum’s purpose is not performance — it’s remembrance.

When you hold your drum, you hold a map back to your origins.

When you strike it, you call forth your ancestors’ song.

When you dance to it, you move the energy that words cannot touch.

🌺

Reflection & Invitation

Sit with your favorite drum, rattle, or even your heartbeat.

Close your eyes and let your hands move freely — no rhythm to force, no perfection to chase. Just pulse.

💫 Ask yourself: What part of me needs to be released through sound?

If tears rise, let them fall. If laughter bursts out, let it fill the room.

This is the medicine of rhythm — the song that frees the soul.