Drums of Sully Cally
Saving the musical traditions of Martinique
D.B. Bostdorf
Sully Cally, a percussionist, actor and musicologist from Martinique, recently published a book packed with information about his country's traditional music.
Cally plays a damye drum with ti-bwas (petits bois or "little wood") which are struck on the side of the drum to create an additional rhythm. He is most comfortable with the Bel-air and gwo-ka forms of music. The bel-air musical tradition of Martinique and that of gwo-ka in Guadeloupe resemble Haitian music with its strong African influence. Although it is today enjoying a come-back in the Caribbean, it is still less well-known elsewhere than the more Europeanized and sometimes insipid beguine.
D. B. Bostdorf is a senior contributor to virginvoices.com.
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