African legend

 

The activity I have chosen is to create a drum that is related to an old african legend about monkeys. An old African legend tells that hundreds of years ago, in those lands, monkeys used to spend hours gazing at the moon. They would gather in the evenings when the sky was clear and would be stunned by its beauty. They could go for hours without blinking, fascinated by such beauty. They often commented that if it was so beautiful seen from afar, it must be even more spectacular up close. One day they decided by consensus that, to see for themselves, they would travel to it. As the monkeys do not have wings, their only option was to climb on top of each other to form a long tower. The strongest stayed at the bottom and the weakest climbed nimbly, until they formed a huge column of monkeys. The tower seemed solid, but it turned out not to be so. It was too high and those at the base found their strength failing. As a result, it began to wobble and collapsed. Thousands of monkeys fell to the ground. To be more precise, all but one fell, for the one at the top managed to hook its tail onto the Moon's horn. The pale Luna laughed. She thought it was very funny to see the cute little monkey hanging upside down and waving his arms. She helped him to his feet and, to thank him for his impromptu visit, she gave him a drum. He had never seen one before because drums did not yet exist on earth. The moon became his teacher and taught him to play it. She wanted him to become a good musician! But as always, all good things come to an end and it was time to go home. The Moon said a tender farewell to the monkey and prepared a long rope for him to slide down. She gave him only one warning: he was not to touch the drum until he reached the ground. If he disobeyed, he would cut the rope. The monkey promised to do so, but on the way down he could not resist the temptation and, halfway down, he began to beat his drum. The sound echoed through space and reached the ears of the moon, who angrily cut the rope. The monkey flew through the clouds and over the rainbow at full speed, plummeting to earth. The blow was a huge one! It hurt every bone in his body and he sustained serious injuries. Luckily, a girl from a nearby tribe found him lying next to his drum and, taking pity on him, nursed him back to health in her hut. Legend has it that this was the first drum known in Africa. The indigenous people liked the sound so much that they began to make similar drums. Over time, this instrument became very popular and spread across the continent. Today, from north to south, so many drums resonate that the moon is said to hear their beating and be pleased. Materials to make a drum: Large tin can Can opener Paper Adhesive tape Leather Hole punch Scissors String Steps: 1 Take a large tin can and remove the lids. 2Cover the tin with paper and tape it down with adhesive tape. 3Cut two round pieces of leather, taking into account that the edge has to hang down at least three centimetres. You can mark the area to be cut by pressing lightly with the can. 4With the help of the hole puncher, make holes at the same distance from each other so that you can put the rope in later. 5Insert the rope in both pieces of leather, joining the one at the top and the one at the bottom, tightening and tying a knot at the end.

Romina Teresa Arévalo