When the Drummers Were Women: A Spiritual History of Rhythm: Amazon.ca: Layne Redmond: Books

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From Library Journal

A drummer herself who has taught and performed on the frame drum for many years, Redmond has written an engaging work on the history and meaning of female drumming in ancient spiritual traditions. She bases her work on her travels to ancient sites and other research, tracing the role of sacred drumming from as far back as the Paleolithic era (in the worship of the "Great Mother" or "Great Goddess") and in ancient civilizations in the Near East, India, Greece, and Rome. Along the way, she unearths the first representation of a framed drum at Catal Huyuk (in present-day Turkey), ca. 5600 B.C.E. Redmond even takes us through the rise of Christianity, which silenced both women and drumming in worship, then concludes with the reappearance of drumming in the modern age and its importance as a medium for transformation. Well documented, with an excellent bibliography, this multifaceted study will have great appeal for all readers and especially for music and women's studies collections.?Joan W. Gartland, Detroit P.L.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Women's spirituality circles have taken to drumming in a big way. Redmond has been a leader in reintroducing the frame drum, which, she persuasively argues, has been an instrument of spiritual transformation for millennia. Her marvelous book brings together mythology, history and prehistory, personal experience, musical lore, and scientific information on the healthful effects of drumming. Scores of illustrations show stately goddesses holding frame drums, wild maenads tossing their heads as they pound, and priestesses sanctifying space with the rhythms they beat. Redmond's own story of learning drumming in a society in which women are still actively discouraged from taking up the drums is a paradigm of female experience. Wise and passionate, Redmond's book will find a ready audience, made up not only of those who have attended her popular workshops but also of other women drawn to the ecstatic pulse of the drum. Patricia Monaghan

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4.5 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Redmond's Contribution, Jan 18 2004

By

E. L. Weinhold "Lolly" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: When the Drummers Were Women: A Spiritual History of Rhythm (Paperback)

Redmond's thesis is quite fascinating, and it is wonderful to see this area of oft-overlooked women's spirituality and religion come to light. However, I was a little disappointed in the writing of this book, finding it straying too far from the intended topic of the history of women's drumming practices. In recent years, many books have been published with this theme: ancient goddesses, Divine Feminine, etc. I picked up this book because I thought it would offer a completely new angle on ancient practice, yet, I found it repeated things that I have learned in various other publications. There were a few new insights, as well as very interesting images and pictures to demonstrate how ancient women used their drums, but not the amount of information for which I was hoping.

One other qualm I had with this book was the subtitle: A Spiritual History of Rhythm. When an author attaches this inclusive subtitle to a book, the reader hopes for a survey from many different cultures and continents. I was disappointed that African rhythm history was altogether ignored in this book, in favor of Asian, and European rhythm history. African rhythms are some of the most ancient, and the women had a special purpose and place in the development of rhythm and music in Africa. Why ignore them? Perhaps Redmond's subtitle should have read: A Spiritual History of Frame Drumming in Europe and Asia. At least that way, it would have been clear upfront what the reader could expect.

Although I have been critical of the overall work, I applaud Redmond's effort to commute her passion and love for drumming and rhythm, as well as her devotion to the Divine. Reading the book inspired me to pick up her CD, and I am anxious to hear more of her work.

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5.0 out of 5 stars What We Lost When God Killed the Goddess, Jun 2 2004

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T. David Millican (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Drummers Were Women: A Spiritual History of Rhythm (Paperback)

May I tell you about a wonderful, mind-expanding, and heart-expanding book I have recently read called "When the Drummers Were Women"? With lavish illustrations and photographs, meticulous research, and a cross-cultural perspective, author Layne Redmond (a master drummer/teacher herself) gives us a thorough and thoroughly human look at the Goddess cultures and religions which were destroyed by the violently patriarchal Indo-Europeans roaring out of the steppes of central Asia to found the late-prehistorical and historical cultures and religions of Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Persia, and India. Layne traces the mythology of the Goddess religions as the Goddess is raped and subjugated by the male gods of the Indo-Europeans. The so-called Western Tradition has quite a different look from the perspective of the cultures, religions, and philosophies which it destroyed in its ascendance to world domination.

It's also possible to read and absorb it in small pieces, which is a real advantage for sick or busy people. While this book would not appeal to guns-and-football men or religious conservatives, it makes a good and fundamental source of information for readers who wish to consider themselves to be educated. This book lies in the new "Inclusive History" movement, in which events are selected and portrayed to show multiple viewpoints. This approach contrasts quite sharply with the enormous bias shown in the selection and portrayal of events in the "Exclusive History" writings of the victors. Thus, for those who have not been fortunate enough to attend schools where "Inclusive History" textbooks are used, this material helps to correct biased representations and to fill vitally important gaps in a lifetime learner's knowledge of The Human Experience.

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2.0 out of 5 stars simplistic feminist fluff, April 30 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: When the Drummers Were Women: A Spiritual History of Rhythm (Paperback)

This book basically covers the history of women using frame drums theorized by viewing artifacts and pictoral references from past 2200 years of civilized societies. There is no mention of tribal drumming or theories discussed of women using other types of drums. Plus you get wasted pages of author's own diatribe about her and her friends spiritual enlightment from forming a drumming group. It's junk like this that gives christian fundamentalists fodder for saying new-age/neo-pagan followers are nothing but feminists trying to rewrite history.
The pluses for this book are it has plenty of b/w pictures, and the cover flaps can be used as bookmarks if you can't finish this lightly fleshed out summary in one sitting.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely wonderful
as a female drummer for almost a decade now, i highly recommend this book to everyone out there, musical or no. Read more

Published on Sep 14 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting angle on an overdone subject
Throughout history, music and rhythm have been used in religious ritual, to bring human beings into the ecstasy of the divine presence, by whatever name that has been called at... Read more

Published on Mar 8 2003 by Kelly (Fantasy Literature)