The Mina drum

Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

 (Tambor Mina) is the largest of the drums that have origins in the Barlovento, Miranda

Miranda (state)

Miranda State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided. It is ranked second in population among Venezuelan states, after Zulia State. In June 30, 2010, it had approximately 2,987,968 residents. It also has the greatest Human Development Index in Venezuela, according to the...

 region of Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. They are used during the celebrations of St. John the Baptist and the Midsummer

Midsummer

Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...

. It is a specialized form of the Cumaco drum. Its origins have been traced to the Mina civilization, which occupied what is now Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

 in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.

Organology

The drum is made out of the trunk of the guava tree

Guava

Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...

 (or other hardwood) that has been naturally hollowed out by termites. It can measure up to 2m

Metre

The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...

 (6 ft) in length, with a diameter varying (because it fluctuates with the available material) between 20 and 40 cm (about 10-14 inches). One end is capped with a head made of cow or deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

 hide held in place with a peg and rope assembly. The other end is open.

Playing style

The mina is placed on a fork to elevate the drum head to the soloist's chest level. The soloist holds a pair of sticks to beat the main pattern and improvisations on the drum head. A group of accompanists stand and squat alongside and beat an ostinato pattern with sticks on the shell. A smaller drum, named curbata plays the basic pattern with little or no deviation. Unlike the pattern of the redondo drum, which is divided in multiples of 3 beats per measure, the pattern of the Mina battery is based on multiples of 2 beats per measure.

Cultural significance

The mina battery is an integral part of the summer celebrations in Afro-Venezuelan communities of North-Central Venezuela (the region called Barlovento). The celebrations of the Summer Solstice coincides with the day of San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist), which may account for the Saint's popularity in Barlovento. The mina (also called Tambor Grande or large drum) is set up on a fixed location, where people converge to hear and dance to the performance. In contrast, the smaller, lighter redondo battery (called Tambor Pequeño or small drum) is carried around by the musicians and played at different points of the procession

Procession

A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...

dedicated to St. John.

Cumaco or Mina?

The Mina is a specialized form of the cumaco drum. The main differences between the two terms are:

• Cumacos are widespread in many Afro-Venezuelan communities. The Mina is unique to Barlovento.
• Cumacos have the head nailed or tacked on the drum shell. Minas use a rope/wedge assembly (a method still used in Africa in the Ewe, Adowa and the Igba drum families).
• Cumaco ensembles may include more than one large drum. Mina ensembles only have one large drum and a smaller one, the aforementioned curbata.
• Cumacos are often laid on the ground and played by sitting astride (soloist) and squatting alongside. Minas are held on a diagonal with a wooden fork, so the soloist may stand in front of the drum head.