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[Mediaport]

In the past, ceremonies held to pay tribute to the royal family and great chiefs were the only occasions for admiring the skill of the Tutsi drummers, who inherited this art from their Timbo families.

Nowadays, the ritual has been adapted for festive occasions and concert halls. This album conjures up the impressive entrance of 15 initiates, carrying the long barrels cut out of umuvugangoma tree trunks on their heads, striking the cow hides with their short drumsticks, then forming a semi-circle around the inkiranya or central drum. On the left, the amashako drums, which beat a sustained rhythm. On the right, the ibishikizo drums, which take up the rhythms generated by the inkiranya. They unfurl with implacable precision and impressive power.

Each drummer takes his turn to perform a solo on the inkiranya, outdoing each other's prowess with displays of athletic dancing, which are, of course invisible on this delightful recording made in 1981 at Rennes' Maison de la Culture during the 8th Festival des Arts Traditionnels.

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