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The Making of the Drum / Atumpan Lyrics by Kamau Brathwaite

Humboldt Caribbean Lit

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Brathwaite's reading of these poems can be heard on SoundCloud or by opening this annotation
The Making of the Drum1The Skin
First the goat
must be killed
and the skin
stretched.
Bless you, four-footed animal, who eats rope,
skilled
upon rocks, horned with our sin;
stretch your skin, stretch
it tight on our hope;
we have killed
you to make a thin
voice that will reach
further than hope
further than heaven, that will
reach deep down to our gods where the thin
light cannot leak, where our stretched
hearts cannot leap. Cut the rope
of its throat, skilled
destroyer of goats; its sin,
spilled on the washed gravel, reaches
and spreads to devour us all. So the goat
must be killed
and its skin
stretched.
2The Barrel of the Drum
For this we choose wood
of the tweneduru tree:
hard duru wood
with the hollow blood
that makes a womb.
Here in this silence
we hear the wounds
of the forest;
we hear the sounds
of the rivers;
vowels of reed-
lips, pebbles
of consonants,
underground dark
of the continent.
You dumb adom wood
will be bent,
will be solemnly bent, belly
rounded with fire, wound-
ed with tools
that will shape you.
You will bleed,
cedar dark,
when we cut you;
speak, when we touch you.
3The Two Curved Sticks of the Drummer
There is a quick
stick grows in the for-
est, blossoms twice year-
ly without leaves;
bare white branches
crack like light-
ning in the harm-
attan.
But no harm
comes to those who live near-
by. This tree, the
elders say, will never
die.
From this stripped tree
snap quick sticks for
the festival. Its wood,
heat-hard as stone,
is toneless as a bone.
4Gourds and Rattles
Cal-
abash trees'
leaves
do not clash;
bear a green
gourd, burn
copper in the
light, crack
open seeds
that rattle.
Blind underground the rat's
dark saw-teeth bleed
the wet root, snap
its slow long drag of time,
its grit, its flavour; turn
the ripe leaves sour. Clash
rattle, sing gourd; never leave
time's dancers weary like this tree
that makes and mocks our music.
5The Gong-Gong
God is dumb
until the drum
speaks.
The drum
is dumb
until the gong-gong leads
it. Man made,
the gong-gong's
iron eyes
of music
walk us through the humble
dead to meet
the dumb
blind drum
where Odomankoma speaks:
AtumpanKon kon kon kon
kun kun kun kun
Funtumi Akore
Tweneboa Akore
Tweneboa Kodia
Kodia Tweneduru
Odomankoma 'Kyerema se
Odomankoma 'Kyerema se
oko babi a
oko babi a
wa ma ne-ho mene so oo
wa ma ne-ho mene so oo
akoko bon anopa
akoko tua bon
nhima hima hima
nhima hima hima ...
Funtumi Akore
Tweneboa Akore
Spirit of the Cedar
Spirit of the Cedar Tree
Tweneboa Kodia
Odomankoma 'Kyerema says
Odomankoma 'Kyerema says
The Great Drummer of Odomankoma says
The Great Drummer of Odomankoma says
that he has come from sleep
that he has come from sleep
and is arising
and is arising
like akoko the cock
like akoko the cock who clucks
who crows in the morning
who crows in the morning
we are addressing you
ye re kyere wo
we are addressing you
ye re kyere wo
listen
let us succeed
listen
may we succeed ...
Credits
Kamau Brathwaite

Kamau Brathwaite

About “The Making of the Drum / Atumpan” by Kamau Brathwaite

Read the complete lyrics to "The Making of the Drum / Atumpan" by Kamau Brathwaite from the album "Humboldt Caribbean Lit". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music, Spoken Word, Poetry.

"The Making of the Drum / Atumpan" is performed by Kamau Brathwaite. from the album "Humboldt Caribbean Lit" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "The Making of the Drum / Atumpan", explore more songs by Kamau Brathwaite using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"The Making of the Drum / Atumpan" is credited to Kamau Brathwaite. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"The Making of the Drum / Atumpan" appears on "Humboldt Caribbean Lit".

Visit the Kamau Brathwaite artist page at /artist/kamau-brathwaite for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.