Azizi,

Continuing from my last post (It was getting around dinner time)...

**My difficulty is with the rest of your statement-the fact that most of the slaves that came to the United States came from the northern savana's, and in this area of Africa drums were not as common.**

I think there may be a misunderstanding in this discussion which is due to a different use of the term "northern".People have different ideas where the boundries of northern Africa begin and end.My use of the term "northern savannas" is inspired by a book I got for Christmas 19 years ago.It's a book by Steve Lawhead called "Rock Reconsidered".An excerpt from two paragraps on page 57/58 sais:

"Most of the slaves who found their way to the United States came not from the tropical rain forests but from the northern regions of the great savannas, the area of Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.Interestingly, the drum (and therefore,"the beat") was not an important instrument in the northern region of Africa from where American slaves came.Tony Palmer in All You Need Is Love:The story of Popular Music, observes, "The principal musical instruments of the savanna were stringed....Particularily common was the banya."The banya is the father of today's banjo.Palmer also points out that the banya did not originate in black Africa, but came there by way of Egyption caravans.Drums such as the slaves possessed were suppressed by white slave holders in America because plantation owners (perhaps rightly so) thought that the messages of revolt could be passed back and forth between groups of slaves.The banjo, on the other hand, had a brighter future as the slave's chief musical instrument since it's usefulness as a telephone was almost nil."

Now concerning the quotation above, it could be argued that the author Steve Lawhead and Tony Palmer (whom he quotes) got some of their information wrong.I can not say that I agree with all the views of Steve's book.But I think it is a well established historical fact that the stringed banjo became the most common musical instrument of the black U.S. slave, and this would help to support the idea that a significant number came from areas of Africa that favoured the older proto-types of the banjo.According to the Melt Press article you shared, the "savanna belt" includes largely Muslim groups such as the Fulani of Northern Nigeria.And another article I read (about Islamic roots of the blues) suggests that Muslim dominated regions of Africa have tended to favor stringed instruments.So this also supports the idea that this savanna area has put emphasis on stringed instruments.

**If you are saying that drums aren't a part of the musical tradition of some Central Africa ethnic groups, that may indeed be true.I don't know enough about it to say yeah or nay.But what about the Conga drum that is so heavily used in Afro-Caribbean music? the drum gets its name from the Congo.**

There may be a misunderstanding.I don't think any part of Africa is without a drumming tradition.And my comments were not focused on the Congo (soft voice).But I would suggest that some areas of black Africa at different times or with different groups--the drum has been less common (which doesn't mean non at all) and stringed instruments the primary emphasis.Drumming has been a very important part of the Congo area, and I don't denie that.But I don't think the drumming of the Congo had much influence on most black U.S music in the early days of slavery, though music of that type or similar would eventually have an increased impact on the black U.S scene.Mahalia Jackson, who was one of the major pioneers of black gospel, used what sounds like a bongo or congos in atleast one of her songs.(I can't remember the name of the song and my father no longer has the tape it was on).

**Furthermore, blind will, since nothing complicated is ever simple, I'm hoping you would also 'talk' about the influence of Caribbean music on African American religious music.**

These comments are atleast partly on topic with the Gaelic-Gospel thread, but I think I'll answer it here.(When you use the term "African American" do you mean any blacks from the South and North American continent? If I do use the term, I refer only to blacks from the United States of America/USA.)

To tell you the truth I don't know an awful lot about a Carribbean influence on the black U.S religious/gospel scene (if that's what you meant).It wouldn't be surprising if a certain amount of Carribean influence crept into some of the old black gospel, though I'm not aware that it was any real foundation.Perhaps Mahalia Jackson was using Carribean rhythmns in that song she uses with that bongo type drumming.I also don't think it's to surprising to find black religious music in the Carribean that is shaped by other music in the Carribean (don't mean that as an insult).You made a reference to such Carribean religious styles as Rasta Drumming (which is essentialy African music in style) and it's connection to reggae.There is a solid connection between Rasta drumming and alot of what is classified as reggae, though it also has indirect roots in the U.S. black gospel music (by it's adaption of black American rock'n'roll/soul music sounds).

That's all for now!