SOLD
About The Drum and Drumstand
(Please note: This drum does not qualify for Free Shipping. Please contact Bob now for a shipping estimate before purchasing it. Thank you!)
THE DRUM:
- The largest powwow drum Bob has ever made, the Shaman's Buffalo Spirit Drum comes from a cross-cut section of a maple tree more than six feet round. Bob (pictured in the 4th photo above) fashioned this all natural drum by hand over a period of two years. The drum stand, too, is a one-of-a-kind, as you can see. It was also Bob-made. (See photos 6, 7 and many closeup images of decorations and paintings, above.)
- One of only two drums in the world to have "Drum Pockets" (5th picture above) carved inside the frame. The four pockets honor the four directions and hold offerings during ceremony. You will not find this feature on any other powwow drum in the world (except the Bear Drum, which Bob made several years ago and that now serves in a California tribal center).
- The Shaman's Buffalo Spirit Drum seeks to honor a powerful and sacred lord of America's Great Plains. It was the buffalo which provided food, shelter, clothing, tools and many other life-sustaining necessities to the native peoples.
- Many also saw the buffalo symbolically situated in the center of the wheel of life, and hence comes a spirit drum to acknowledge this mighty totem animal.
- Frame: Maple, cross-cut, 74-inch circumference, 26-inch diameter, 5 1/2-inches deep, 2-inches (varies) thick.
- Drumhead: Buffalo, fastened to 27 oak pegs embedded in the frame.
- Decorations: Woven fabric and silk-like cording sewn together and intertwined on the pegs form a beautiful spiraling tiara around the drum, accented by a white leather band.
- Many emerald chips are buried beneath the nameplate to concentrate healing energy and serve as the heart of the drum, another hallmark of Thunder Valley Drums.
THE DRUMSTAND:
- Four decorated hand-crafted Buffalo inserts are placed individually "Around The Sacred Circle," the four sacred directions, and feature images of buffaloes painted by Thunder Valley Drums artist Glenn Lewis. Each buffalo represents certain qualities associated with its direction and is painted to resemble traditional Lakota Sioux colors generally attributed to each direction.
- Once the drum is broken in and the bindings holding the buffaloes stretch a bit and relax, the buffaloes will "dance" a little up and down with each beat of the drum. That's because they are attached at a wooden pivot point in the stand.
- Constructed from recovered cedar.
- Measures 24-inches high, 31-inches square.
- Hand-rubbed with beeswax and oil.
- Can be unlocked and folded for easy storage, and Buffalo inserts can be removed, too.
- Ships separately from drum.
Please do not order this drum until you have contacted Bob to make shipping arrangements. Also, please read "Special Note re: Shipping Charges" in righthand column.
Shaman's Buffalo Spirit Powwow Drum -- SOLD
All of my drums are intended to honor various indigenous shamanic cultures, so the nameplate for the Shaman's Buffalo Spirit Drum carries the Celtic Ogham letters suggesting the Thunder Valley Drums motto, "Live Free" on a triangle of lightning wood.
Other symbols include the great spiral of life (African), a hollowed-out stone (aboriginal), colorful beads (South American), turquoise glass beads (Native American), Tibetan silver beads (East Asia), and brass bells (European / Mediterranean). Holding it all together is white lacing to honor White Buffalo Calf Woman in the Lakota-Sioux tradition.
This drum was birthed in 2015, appropriately in the Spring, just when most buffalo calves are born. You can see and hear the drum here as a group gathered in the Healing Room to honor the newborn with its first birthday!
The beautiful little stone Buffalo Totem (pictured in second photo) was gifted to the spirit of the drum and is included when you purchase the Buffalo Spirit Drum.
Play the Shaman's Buffalo Spirit Drum and you will hear the thunder across the sky and feel the rumble of the herd beneath your feet. This is a powerful drum to honor a mighty animal spirit which lives in the hearts of healers everywhere.
