Category Archives: African Music

A Song About Mothers from South Africa

A while back I recorded a folksong that I learned from Ladysmith Black Mambazo – the amazing vocal group from South Africa. “Here Come Our Mothers, Bringing Us Presents” is a beautiful mixture of English and Zulu lyrics and tells the story of a group of mothers returning home to their children. Although it’s not a traditional “Mother’s Day” song, it has been used in many multicultural celebrations of moms around the globe.

Here’s the video with a big shout out to Philadelphia-based artist (and mom), Brittney Knox who created both the artwork and animation here.

The Story Behind The Song

In one small village in South Africa, the women worked very hard all year long to grow wonderful things in their gardens. When the harvest was done and the crops were stored, they had some extra that they took to town to sell.

After they sold what was extra from their bountiful harvest, they bought the supplies they needed and had a little money left over. With that money, they purchased treats and special things to bring home to their children.

On that day – at home – the children were busy being very good. Perhaps they were sweeping the yard, or cleaning up. They were taking good care of their siblings and not fighting with them – not one bit! And since they waited all day for their mothers to return, they were very excited when they saw them returning to the village.

The song: “Here Come Our Mothers, Bringing Us Presents” is what the children would sing as they imagined what was inside the baskets and bundles coming home as treats. It was a wonderful way to celebrate their mother’s return.

Although most moms get presents on Mother’s Day and the moms in this folk tune bring the presents, the concept behind the song is universal. Mothers have a special place in their children’s hearts – both when they are young and forever!

Here Come Our Mother’s Free Coloring Page: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mothers-Day-Coloring-Page-Traditional-Moms-From-South-Africa-2540830

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Posted in African Music, Classroom Music, Family Fun, Favorite Songs, Holiday Songs

Tagged Bringing Us Presents, childrens music., Daria, Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, Here Come Our Mothers, homeschool music, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, mothers day song, mothers day songs, multicultural mothers day songs, world music with daria, young children and music, zulu songs for kids

Simple Instruments from Africa For Children

Making music with young children is a great way of combining creativity and fun with learning about global cultures. Whether you are quietly crafting, reading and researching or drumming and dancing, here are some simple instruments that can be a part of any study of the diverse and beautiful cultures of Africa.

Make It Rattle!

Different types of rattles can be found throughout Africa and the world. They are easy to hold and play for kids of all ages and almost all abilities. Here are three very different rattles from Africa – one that even can be seen in hieroglyphics that date back to ancient Egypt! All of these are perfect to be made and played by small hands!

Tongue Rattle

http://makingmulticulturalmusic.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/make-your-own-african-style-tongue-rattle/

Caxixi Rattle

http://tinytappingtoes.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/make-your-own-woven-caxixi-rattle/

Egyptian Sistrum Rattle – Make It From A Recycled Hanger

the Eco-Egyptian Sistrum

Egyptian Sistrum Rattle – Make It From A Tree Branch

the Natural Egyptian Sistrum

Egyptian Sistrum Coloring Page
the Egyptian Sistrum Coloring Page

Hands On The Drum!

There are an astounding number of different drums and drumming traditions throughout Africa. Crafting a simple hand drum from recycled materials is a great place to start an exploration of drumming for very young children.

http://www.dariamusic.com/docs/Make%20Your%20Own%20African%20Drum.pdf

Shake A Shekere

In this unique and beautiful percussion instrument, the rattle is on the outside of the gourd. It can be shaken back and forth, tossed hand to hand or used like a ball in simple children’s musical games. To hear or color a shekere or find crafting instructions and simple activities, check out the links below.

Hear A Shekere

http://www.dariamusic.com/shekere.php

Color A Shekere Online

http://www.dariamusic.com/color_Shekere.php

Make Your Own Shekere

http://www.dariamusic.com/make_Shekere.php

Easy Gourd Shekere For A Kid Or A Classroom

http://tinytappingtoes.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/easy-gourd-shekere-for-a-child-or-a-classroom/

Alphabet Shekere

http://www.trueaimeducation.com/2012/10/guest-post-learning-letters-with.html

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Posted in African Music, Classroom Music, Early Learning With Music, Family Fun, First Instruments, Multicultural Music, Musical Crafts, Simple Instruments

Tagged African Music, African music for kids, African rattles, caxixi, childrens music., children’s musical instruments, Daria, Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, Easiest Instruments For Children, Easy Instruments kids, Green crafts, green musical crafts, hand drum, kids crafts, kids musical crafts, playing music with young children, recycled materials, Simple Instruments Africa, Sistrum, tongue rattle, unusual percussion, world music with daria, young children and music

Easy Gourd Shekere For A Child – Or A Classroom

A shekere is a wonderful, versatile instrument from Africa. Made from dried gourds of various sizes, the instrument has a netting over its rounded area that is beaded or woven with shells, seeds, nuts or other objects that rattle. Since making the knots for the netting can be hard for smaller hands, we’re sharing a simplified version perfect for making with a child, a group of siblings or a classroom of kids.

Start With A Gourd

Shekeres are made from dried birdhouse gourds. After they are harvested and stored for about a year in a dry location, they become sturdy and have a hardened outer shell. As the gourds dry, the shell may not look perfect so some craftspeople sand the shell, bleach the shell or even paint and decorate it to make it more appealing before they begin the beading process. You can try any of those approaches as well or use them “au natural”.

Make A Gourd Necklace

The formal beadwork on a shekere is called a skirt. For this project, our gourds will only have a necklace instead of a full “skirt”.

Take a piece of string, twine or embroidery thread and twist it around the top of the gourd, marking where it will overlap. Measure it tight enough to stay on the gourd, but loose enough to rattle. Don’t tie the string but instead lay it flat on a work surface. It can be helpful to tape it into place. Looking at the length of the string, you can get a good idea of how many strands of beads you can create to put onto it.

Jingles, Jangles and Bangles

Collect your bangles! Look for any type of beads, buttons, jingle bells or similar objects you can use to create the sound of your instrument. Here are some ideas for making several different types of creative shekeres.

Parent/Child Shekere

Parent and child create strands of noise-makers and they are strung alternately on the gourd.

Sibling – Friendship Shekere

Sister and brothers or friends create strands of noise-makers and they are strung on the gourd.

Classroom or Group Shekere

Each student or participant makes one string of noise-makers to add to the classroom instrument.

After you’ve finished creating your strands, add them to the necklace and tie it into place on the gourd.

Playing A Simple Shekere

Although these easy shekeres may not seem as versatile as their bigger cousins, you can hold them from the top and create several different types of rhythms. And if dried gourds are not readily available in your area, we’re also sharing a link below for making a recycled version out of plastic milk jugs.

Experiment with what you’ve created and have a blast!

Shekere Resources And Links