Udu Drum by Lisa Frumhoff
When I first learned about the Udu Drum in 2007, I was taking an African Drumming class from a woman who shared about a variety of percussion instruments, including the Udu Drum. Being a drummer as she was, she owned one herself. She owned a traditional Udu as Frank and Abbas make, as I share about them la little further down here.
Just to the right and below is a little small Udu I made for my very first tiem in 2007. I finally learned when I discovered in my research about Frank Giorgini and how these amazing Udus were to be made. I purchased both of his DVDs in 2018 and finally started making them as they were authentically made. In July of 2019, I am so grateful that Frank Giorgini and Ana welcomed me into their home and hosted their 30’th anniversary of the Udu Workshop. Abbas and his wife Martha and their family were in for this incredible special Udu Workshop where they generously taught us how to make these Udus and all about their history and their story. I am forever grateful for each of them.
These were some of my very first ones. I had fun with the sculpture forms n the drums and playing with the symbol Turtle. This is 2 sides of the same drum. The side hoe was too big for what I know now. The neck of the Udu is sjhorter so that impacted the sound coming from the Udu.
The drum is spiritual for me. More on that another time.
I typed one ay one thoughts about the UDU and the words ‘Frum Drum’,were on the screen. I almost deleted it and then thought it was a perfect name for the ones I’ve made that are not the authentic Udu Drum and have a personality of their own.
What I make now are the Udus as Frank and Abbas taught me.
Many pictures of ones I have currently made in the Udu Workshops that Frank and Abbas led in 2019, and then Deborah in 2023 & 2024.
I have been making pottery since 1987, a hobby I picked up after college. In 2007, I followed a childhood dream of mine to take drum lessons. I learned on the African Drum, the Ube, modelled after the traditional DJembe from Ubaka Hill. This is when I learned about the Udu Drum, and I have been bonded ever since to this drum. In the summer of 2019, I personally met Frank Giorgini when I enrolled in his Udu Drum workshop in the Catskills of New York. This was the workshop’s 30th anniversary, and it included his professor and mentor of the Udu Drum, Abbas M. Ahuwan, who traveled from Nigeria with his wife Martha to co-teach this workshop. Being there was one of my dreams coming true.
My 1st Udu Drum made in 2007.
The word Udu means both pottery and peace in the Ibo language of Nigeria.
These original ‘Udu Drums’ I was attempting to make were not how I make them now. AFter learning from Frank Giorgini and Abbas in July of 2019, I have been making them the way they tought me. When I spoke with Martha, Abbas’ wife, she shared how the women would gather in the evning and play these softly in their laps, a group of women, since back then only women were allowed to play these Udus. I also learned by reseaerching that some believe the deep haunting sound particular to the drum is the “voice of the ancestors” when used in religious ceremonies.
Now, I form each of my handmade drums true to the traditional techniques that were handed down to me from Abbas M. Ahuwan and Frank Giorgini. These drums are created by pounding clay with flat rocks, and then one coil at a time is formed and added with precise technique all the way to the top to completion. I use various tools including my hands to make the coils as Abbas taught me. In addition, I shape the drum with wooden paddles, then burnish the surface with a smooth gemstone for a beautiful luster-filled finish. The drums are not thrown on a potter’s wheel, which was how I created my original drums before learning from the gurus Frank Giorgini and Abbas M. Ahuwan. Thank you Frank and Abbas.
- We are giving birth to these drums one touch, one coil at a time.
When my dad was in hospice, I brought one of my Udus made and I played it for my dad. I made a soft soothing sound. I had been ‘attempting’ to make these Udus for years in a way very different than they were made by the people of Nigeria. I stacked wheel thrown objects. I do not do that anymore. Even then, they made a pretty sound and my dad enjoyed the soft bubbly basey sounds coming from playing the top hole and side hole. Sometimes I would tap the clay lightly. I enjoy playing the Udu as it calms me and is very meditative. I feel very relaxed after playing for 10-15 minutes. The sounds and playing are soft, for me.
My unique Frum Drum Udu Drum is personalized with embedded Reiki healing throughout the creation process. As a Reiki Master and healer, I also was blessed to be in the right place at the right time when my friend Abbas fell ill during the workshop week. I offered my Reiki healing to Abbas, and 15 minutes later he stood up and declared “you healed me.” I have truly, truly magical and incredible memories of a lifetime in my journey to Frank Giorgini’s Udu Drum Workshop that the late Frank Giorgini created and mastered making these amazing creations learning from his teacher Abbas. I am so very grateful for Frank and Abbas and his wfe Martha, and their family. I continue to work on my practice of making the Udu as I learned from Frank and Abbas. I can only pray I would make something just that they would be proud of. I am grateful to Frank and Abbas.
Namaste,
Lisa Frumhoff