The Nankama drummers
creating a stir outside the Pavilion in Cork City for the opening show
of the 2010 Festival of Africa celebrating Africa Day, aided and abetted
by the ARK Volunteer Group African Dancers
Nankama (meaning born for it) is a Cork based West African
drumming and dance group. Nankama have many successful festival gigs
under their belt, including the ELECTRIC PICNIC (Body and Soul),The
REBEL PEDAL FESTIVAL, The CORK CITY MARATHON, IRISH GREEN GATHERING
FESTIVAL in Wexford and the KINSALE ARTS WEEK FESTIVAL and the
FESTIVAL OF WORLD MUSIC (Cork)
Nakama currently perform a set of mostly West African Malinké
rhythms and Dances, with a long term vision to forge their own
original sound stemming from this tradition. The sounds created by
Nankama are technically intriguing and embody the energetic spirit
of African music. Nankama's audiences are unable to resist the urge
to dance as the rhythms take over the space.
Some of the Traditional rhythms performed by Nankama have been
brought back directly from the Cassamance by Patrick Naughton, the
founder and lead Djembe player in the group. Others rhythms were
learned by the group attending workshops by the legendary Djembe
Fola - Mamady Keita and his band. The dances performed by the group
originate from the studies of group member Siobhain who lived and
studied for 6 months in Senegal.
