Burru is a unique style ofdrumming used inJamaican music.[1]
"Burru" consists of alternations of abeat made by one drummer, and another beat by another drummer, like a conversation between two or more people: this pattern is namedcall and response,[2] and can be observed in almost all African-rooted music, such as the first Afro-American music genres likeblues andgospel, among others. Three types of drums were used in most arrangements: they consisted of "Bass", "Fundeh" and "Repeater" drum.[3] All three drums had very important roles: the Bass drum carried the rhythm, theFundeh drum added syncopation, and the Repeater drum brought in the melody. Occasionally, lyrics would be incorporated as well into songs. They would still follow the "call and response" pattern.[4]
This style of drumming originated inWest Africa, and later moved to theCaribbean as a result of theatlantic slave trade; on theslave plantations, slave masters permitted its continuance as it provided a rhythm for the slaves to work by. The term "burru" originates from the AfricanTwi language word "bru", meaning to "ravage", "strike" or "destroy", and this term is also present in theJamaican patois, where it refers to an individual that is a "ruffian". For this reason, it was possibly an insult from one Twi speaking slave orCoromantee (an archaic British term to refer to Twi speakingAkan slaves from the inland, north of theGold Coast) to another. The word also refers to an Ashanti kind of drum calledAburukuwa, cylindrical in shape, and known in Jamaica as "Burru drum".[5]
Burru has been used in many ways over the years. This style was at first known as a more aggressive form of drumming, due to the loud and hard beats. However, burru in West Africa was used more as a form of cultural expression, and it would frequently have been used in arrangements calledtalking drums. It has also been used inreggae music, popularised byCount Ossie, and used by artists such asBob Marley.[6]
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