
When the Drummers Were Women
A Spiritual History of Rhythm
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Narrated by:
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Kristi Burns
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By:
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Layne Redmond
About this listen
For millennia, the sacred drummers of pre-Christian Mediterranean and western Asia were women. In this inspiring book, Layne Redmond, herself a renowned drummer, tells their history.
Artistic representations reveal that female frame drummers carried the spiritual traditions of many of the earliest recorded civilizations. During those ancient times, the drummer-priestesses held the keys to experience of the divine through rhythm. They were at the center of the goddess worship of matriarchal societies until the ascendance of patriarchal cultures and the loss of drumming as a spiritual technology. With wisdom and passion, Redmond chronicles our species’ deep connection to the drum, our rich heritage of inseparable spirituality and music, and the modern-day women reclaiming it.
This book encourages listeners—both women and men—to reestablish rhythmic links with themselves, nature, and other people through the power of drumming. Redmond illustrates her message with an extensive collection of images gathered during ten years of research and travel. Woven throughout the book are strands of ancient ritual and mythology, personal stories, and scientific evidence of the benefits of drumming. It is at once a history, a memoir, and a resounding call for spiritual and social renewal.
Produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.
©1997 Layne Redmond (P)2022 Echo Point Books & Media, LLCListeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about When the Drummers Were Women
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- moringa
- 03-18-25
Impeccable
A deep, heartfelt dive into the ancient history of the goddess, the domestication of women & the importance of the magic of the drum. What a journey, Layne is a legend and this book reflects her brilliance in all its splendor. Absolutely recommended.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-19-25
Positioning how our world as we know it became so patriarchal
There was nothing I did not like - highly recommend this book - will even be re reading it to absorb more.
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