May 27, 2009
Yakkity Yak, Yak Talked Back
Ever hear the expression, “Be careful what you pray for”? Have I got a story for you! For those who attended the last two Healing Drum Retreats you likely remember Larry.
One day when Larry and I were visiting I received a call from someone asking about making a drum. We talked about the drum making at the Healing Drum Retreat, and the great synergy of the group event, and also about private drum making parties that can be scheduled at other locations. Larry sat patiently, well most of the time, he just loves the drum making classes whether he’s making a drum or helping.
The conversation then turned toward the type of hide to use in making a native drum. We talked about horse, a more commonly used hide that is easy to work with, and we talked about buffalo, elk and deer. My caller took her notes and scheduled for her drum at the next Healing Drum Retreat on June 19th, 2009. With that the call concluded.
Larry couldn’t help himself, he jokingly said, “I want a yak drum”!! I giggled, and said, sure, we’ll get you a yak hide. To tell you the truth, when he asked for a yak, I thought they were small like a goat, and didn’t have much hope for finding a hide. I also thought they would sound too high pitched for drumming.
I called a few of my “secret sources”, and magically found a yak hide. Surprisingly enough, when I talked to the yak owner he said that normally these hides are tanned into leather, but this one was not right for tanning, so he had decided to sell it as rawhide. I could see his jaw drop even over the phone, this was his first call about rawhide, and the call came the same day he sent the hide for processing. Funny how that works!
So, if you want to see the building of a real yak drum, we will be building two at the next Healing Drum Retreat on June 19th, 2009. Registration is open, with a discount if you sign up by June 14th. We have Buffalo and Horse hides available for building your own drum, we have a great group to guide and help you. If you have a special request please call me as soon as possible so I have time to pull together your materials.
The hides will also be available for viewing and selection at the Drum Making Party this Saturday!! Join us for this event at 402 1st Street in Winlock, Washington at 1pm for this event.
