FREE FIRST LESSON OF HOW TO PLAY SEKERE
MEANING AND HERSTORY
Sekere (pronounced shay-car-ray) [note: Yoruba
languages has a letter that is pronounced sh, which appears as an s with a dot
under it] is the word from the Yoruba language meaning a calabash/ gourd
rattle covered with a skirt of beads that move. It is a hand held idiophone, or
self- sounding percussion instrument. There are a couple of stories on the
traditional uses and purposes of the Sekere. Some say the instrument was used
by certain male musicians to attract the women to them for the purpose of
informing them of the latest gossip. Sometimes money would be solicited by these
griots for bringing the news to the community. The women then learned how
to play the Sekere because gossiping was considered woman centered. Others tell
of the Shekere being the instrument used by certain women to gather other
females again for the purpose of gossiping. Women would bring their Sekeres to
a central location to socialize by singing and improvising songs about the
latest gossip and other news of the day. This is how the Sekere became
associated with women. This instrument is played around the world in many
different forms and under many different names. Simular to the huge gourd that
has no beeds, in Nigeria that is called an Agbe, in Hawaii it is played without
beads and is sometimes called an uli ulis. In Ghana, among the Akan, Tsi
speaking people, it is smaller, not hollowed
and called an axatse. It is sometimes called a chekere. When it is stringed, it
is played by the length of string that hangs from the bottom of the skirt. No matter what you call
it, it is a dynamic example of nature at its finest.
East Afri
kans give gourds as wedding gifts. They usually have stories carved on them in the form of pictures-pictures that tell a story either about the person receiving the gift or their family, some history, fond wishes like money or children. The patterns represent people, places, things, and events. They can be created to represent and honor deities or to represent certain elements like water or fire.The upper half of the sekere represents the spirit world and the lower half with the beads is our world in some cultures. In some other cultures, the upper half is air, the lower half is water (a place of life and rebirth) and where the "waistband" is, represents the earth (the division between sky and sea). Since life begins with water, the beads represent the many spirits waiting to be born or reborn.
In most African cultures, nothing really dies or stays dead or is useless after death. The gourd is linked with the ancestors and represents a belief that, like the ancestors, even though the gourd is actually dead and dried, it is still very much a part of the culture, a family and a part of you, if you take the time to bond with her.
Gourds are utilized in some form all over the world - Asia, Hawaii, Brazil, Cuba, U.S.A. and Afri
ka. They are made into hats (in particular, a beautiful safari hat), birdhouses, flutes and other stringed and percussive musical instruments, vases, urns, dishes and other utensils like spoons, cups and pitchers. Masai cattle herders of Kenya use gourds to transport and store milk, and sometimes to deliver substances for rituals. Miniature gourds can be made into charms, which hold herbal medicines for healing and protection in some cultures, and are worn around the neck strung on grass rope.In
some Yoruba speaking people's culture which exists throughout the Diaspora, the Sekere is played in honor of YeYe Osun, the river & fertility deity, depending on what stories you hear. There is also a story that links the Sekere to Sango, the fire & thunder deity. There is yet another story that links the Sekere to no deity. Sekere is also linked to the fe-minine energy.*******
SCIENCE &POWER OF COLORSColors chosen for gourd art & sekere weaving &knotting of skirts represents something significant regarding the Most High, Divine Beings, angels and Acestors. The colors are chosen as a spiritual praise, libation, tribute, honor, &/or memorial to someone or to honor a deity or a person or a mundane purpose such as simply one's favorite color(s).
*******
GROWING CALABASH GOURDS IN THE HOME GARDEN
WHEN TO PLANT - Good seed should be sown in hills, 6-8 seeds per hill, after all danger of frost is over. It is unwise to sow too early for they simply will not grow until the soil warms up. They can be started in pots in the greenhouse 3 weeks before they are to be set out in the garden, thus gaining a few weeks on the ones planted directly in the soil. They should be started sooner than that up North and even then, there may not be sufficient time in that area for the fruit to ripen properly. The roots should not be disturbed in transplanting, but the entire pot of undisturbed roots and soil set out in one careful operation. This can be accomplished with peat "pots". When the time comes, the "pot" can be planted in the soil and eventually becomes a part of the soil while the roots grow right through it. The roots of gourds are very close to the soil surface, so in hoeing, one should be careful not to disturb the roots. All gourds should be grown in full sunshine.
Theoretically gourds should be trained on a trellis, up some chicken wire or over some brush to keep the fruits off the ground. Most of us do not have time for that and are willing to take our chances with a few of the fruits being marred on the ground. At least put down some straw. Seeds might be planted twice their length deep in good soil. When seedlings are up, the hills might be thinned to about 4 plants per hill, the hills being about 8 ft. apart. If the seed was "mixed", remember that the seedlings will show variation and one should not remove all the smallest seedlings, because these might just be the varieties with the desired and interesting fruits.
Gourd vines take up more space than most people have in a "normal" backyard. Start with one hill the first year. DO NOT plant seeds near other plants or near a fence. The vines will take over your neighbor's yard as well. When the fruits appear, slip them into nylon stockings or wire netting to help save them from squirrels and birds.
Use 25-35 lb. or 5-10-10 fertilizer (egg shells, rotten veges and fruits as a natural fertilizer) for 1000 sq. ft. of garden. To be on the safe side, you might want to see to pollination yourself. They need ample water and should be given plenty of it during drought periods.
PRUNING - Pruning the vines can increase the number of fruits on each vine. The main stem should be allowed to grow until it is 10 ft. long, then the end can be removed. It is on this part that mostly male flowers are borne. The lateral shoots bear mostly pistillate flowers - an imperfect flower with a pistil, or seed organ, but having no functional stamens (male pollen producing organs). If the end bud of the main shoot is snipped off after the shoot is 10 ft. long, then the first lateral shoots have the main end buds taken off them when each shoot has developed about 4 leaves, this is sufficient for the pruning. Any sublateral shoots - those shoots growing from sideshoots - developing after this are allowed to grow at will. This type of pruning can aid in the production of more fruits.
HARVESTING - Gourds must be thoroughly ripened on the vine before they are picked, for if picked when green or immature they will soon rot. The stem where the gourd is attached to the vine should be watched. When this starts to shrivel and dry up, then the gourd should be picked. If you're in a deep Southern state, you may leave them on the vine to dry completely. It is best to cut them off the vine with shears, saving a few inches of stem on each gourd, rather than roughly tearing them off the vine, often severing the stem right at the end of the gourd. If roughly done, this can injure the gourd/vine connection just enough to allow disease to enter the fruit and rot. These guys are always looking for a reason to rot before they dry. The gourds should not be left out in the field, but rather brought in and washed, often with a mild disinfectant, and set aside a few days to dry thoroughly. The idea is to wash off any soil or impurities which may have become attached to the shell. After a few days they can then be carefully waxed (optional) with any floor paste wax. Some will undoubtedly rot, but the majority, if picked when fully mature, will harden nicely and can be used for years. In the South, calabash gourds are easy to grow and to mature, but in the North it is very difficult to grow them properly. They include the Bottle, Dipper, Kettle and Bird's Nest.
NOTE:
It is of interest to note that Khandi Sekere Arts makes markings on the outsides of any of these gourds when they are half ripe and growing on the vines. Thus, initials, characters, rough line sketches made at this time, eventually look as if they had actually grown on the shell. Also wires, strings or even containers can be placed around the developing fruits in such ways as to permanently change and control the shape. Thus, it is possible to have a square gourd (forced to grow within some confining metal or concrete box). Disease is a concern and the gourd should be disinfected often after its skin has been broken.
Watch sekere being played (to return to this page, click the RETURN button on your browser):
Soul in Motion presents Sekere Ensemble at Takoma Park Folk Festival 2007
also Akiwowo by Voices Of Africa Choral & Percussion Ensemble
also : http://k-hayashida.com/shekere.mov
HOW TO PLAY SEKERE:
1. Remove any jewelry from fingers and wrists
2. Wash hands thoroughly
3. Put hands together or in your praying position of choice and do a brief prayer asking those forces that govern the gourd to guide your hands in your efforts to play the instrument.
4. After your prayer, then spend a few minutes in meditation, focusing on your breath, hands and rhythm.
5. After your brief meditation, breathe as deeply as possible for about 5 deep breaths. In an actual sekere workshop, you would be taught breathing techniques that would help you arrive at a specific amount of breaths per minute.
6. Then take your hands, hold them about 12" apart and then shake them. Shake them up and down (palms up) from the wrist, then side to side from the wrist (palms facing out), up and down (palms down) from the wrist, and side to side from the wrist (palms facing inward).
7. Never place your sekere above floor level and never pick it up by the neck. Always pick up by the skirt's neck.
8. Pick up your sekere.
9. If you are right handed, then place your right hand at the base of your instrument and your left hand at the neck. Don't grab or squeeze the neck but rather allow it to rest gently in your hand, neck resting between the thrumb and pointer finger. visa versa for left handers.
10. Gently let the base of the sekere rock back and forth in the palm of your hand. Roll the gourd with the palm of the hand at the base of the gourd. Do not guide the gourd with the hand around it's neck. This move will become significant as the base of all moves that require a shake from the beads to make the complimentary high pitched sound to the base. The hand on the base of the gourd is a rolling action from finger tips to the palm of the hand. This move is also significant because it is the move that will allow you to roll and lift so that you can push the goard out of your hand long enough to pat the gourd on the bottom to get the base sound out. Practice this for quite a while until you get it perfect. Then you are ready to move on to the next lesson.
Also note: playing sekere requires enormous coordination. Just playing requires focus and discipline. Singing and walking or dancing while playing will throw you off whatever rhythm you are playing when you are first learning. This will pass in time as you develope a relationship with your instrument, the Divine Beings that govern this medium and hone in on your skills. Be patient. You will get it in time.
End of lesson One.
If you appreciate this free first sekere lesson, feel free to donate to Khandi Sekere Arts: