I have been thinking a lot today about the profound way in which African drum and dance has affected my life and my health over the time I’ve practiced it.  For people from countries in Africa and indigenous cultures worldwide, dance and percussion are much more than simple means of entertainment but are actual  forms of medicine.  For some people suffering from illnesses Western medicine can not pinpoint or offer a prescription for, traditional and spirit oriented medicine, such as that put in practice throughout Africa is the actual cure .

My husband is from Senegal and we had been discussing recently the ceremony called Ndeup in his culture. It is a ceremony practiced by an ethnic group called Lebu as well as the Wolof and Serer and  involves an elaborate ceremony of foods, sacrifices, drums and dance.  Oftentimes the entire village comes and the ceremony may be carried out for up to 10 days, with drumming and dancing taking place from Sunrise to Sun up. It is usually prescribed by a traditional priest or medicine man/woman for someone suffering from unexplained mental illness.

Ndeup is a ceremony involving a great deal of incantation and  the addressing  of various spirits in particular ancestral spirits in order to appease them with sacrifice.  Trance is a major part of the healing that takes place during an Ndeup and various individuals may succumb to it.   Most importantly, the patient as well as the involved priests and priestesses go into trance in order to promote healing of the patient.    I’ve had the chance to be apart of similar ceremonies in Brazil, Ghana, Mexico and other parts of the world where people still utilize traditional methods of healing and know the profound impact these types of events can have on ones life…

Check out the Research paper by Nicole Monteiro for more info….

Here is a nice video of a Senegalese Ndeup