The Story of the Red Drum

by Nikiah Seeds

THE WOMAN’S DRUM IS RED….
From the Hindu goddess Kali’s red tongue, to the Red robes worn by Mary Magdalene, each carries an essence of Red and in turn, each of us also carries within us an essence of all the archetypal goddesses.
This is our birthright as a woman, for it is the red blood that we hold within our bodies and wombs that enables us to live, and give birth and it is this aspect that connects us to each other, as we all cycle..

And so it was that many years ago now, in a spirit journey that I first saw the Red drum.

Initially it started as a spirit journey to ask for an image to place on a drum, but instead my entire journey was in red, my guides were red, the landscape was red, and when I saw a red drum placed into my hands, I knew that I was to make a red drum, and that the colour red was the symbol-the symbol of the feminine divine, of life, death and rebirth, and the colour that I was to carry.

This colour is also deeply associated with my Romanian/Ukrainian ancestors where the colour that is used for protection, fertility and strength. This colour as you can see has carried me into my own spiritual practise and within the work that I offer.

Over the next months, giving away to years, the significance of the colour red would come to me in my work over and over again, teaching me and showing me a constantly unfolding path… Red has became the touchstone for my work as a writer, and of course is in the name of the Red Moon Mystery School.

In her book “When the drummers Were Woman”, Layne Redmond says “The drum was the means our ancestors used to summon the goddess and also the instrument through which she spoke. The drumming priestess was the intermediary between divine and human realms. Aligning herself with sacred rhythms, she acted as summoner and transformer, invoking divine energy and transmitting it to the community.” These powerful words sum up so much about the role of the drum for myself and for many of the women who come to my workshops and purchase these red drums. There is much meaning to be learned from crafting and using a sacred drum.

The sound of the drum is said to be the heartbeat of the mother, likewise the roundness of the frame in the context of my work represents the moon, and the wood coming from the ancient tree of life.

When I gather women together for our drum making workshops I play ancient sounds of the frame drum and together each woman handcrafts her own sacred tool. We begin with the frame, which is the foundation for the drum and as they work in creating the drum, each piece is blessed and held close to our beating heart.

Ancient drums owned by woman were specifically painted red using Ochre to represent blood, menstruation and birthing rites. It is in the spirit of this ancient tradition that I too dye my drums red.

Over the years I began to teach small workshops of women how to make their own Red drums, offering pre made ones for sale on my web-site, and eventually offering an online version for folks who were unable to make it to my in person workshops.

However over the years many folks wanted to make their own drums in person, with me and I started to get more and more offers to fly all over the world!

Over time though this was just not sustainable, not to mention the logistics of getting supplies to locations!
Eventually I had to sit and ask myself if the Red drum was not outgrowing my capacity to and if it needed to be out and into the world more than just by myself?

The answer was clear, I needed to find other leaders who were bringing women together and who could make their own drums and wanted to offer the the Red Drum teachings.

In that moment the Red Drum leadership was born!

Now almost 20 years later from my first journey of seeing the red drum there is a thriving and growing community of Red Drum Carriers and leaders offering workshops all over Canada, The USA and internationally!
These leaders have been personally vetted by myself and are an inspiration in all that they do and create!