The drum, and the frame drum in particular, is one of the most widespread and pervasive archetypes and spiritual technologies found the world over. It is seen in some form in almost every culture and predates written history. The drum crosses over all cultures, time frames and lands. Sacred Drumming is a worldwide ancient/modern cross cultural phenomenon. Every culture creates a drum!

It was only quite recently discovered that the drum was played predominately by women, in ancient times. Thousands of images depicting a women holding or playing a frame drum have been found in the form of statuary, relief, vase painting, hieroglyph and votive offerings. The artifacts showing women drummers have been unearthed from archeological digs and have been discovered hiding in plain sight in countless museums and private collections throughout the world.

Depictions of women drummers have been found in the burial goods and artifacts throughout Mesopotamia, Turkey, Egypt, Greece and occasionally, India. The rhythms of the frame drum were played by adepts of the most ancient mystery schools dedicated to the multifarious face of the Great Goddess.

In pre-classical Greece the women initiates called the maenads played the frame drum along with the priestesses of Demeter, Artemis, Aphrodite and the muses. On the island of Crete, the frame drum was used in the rituals of Ariadne, Rhea and Dionysos. The frame drum was one of the main ceremonial instruments used by the Bee Priestesses or Melissae of the ancient Mediterranean world to access states of divination and oracular insight in dedication to the Bee Goddesses.

A host of other Goddesses of antiquity are connected to the frame drum including Astarte, Hathor, Cybele, Isis, Sekhmet, Inanna, Ishtar and others.

The frame drum was the primary tool of transformation that women and Priestesses of the ancient world used to access shamanic states of consciousness, facilitate community rituals and to help lead community members across spiritual gateways in their indigenous birthing and dying rites.

Many women experience a profound feeling of recognition and amazement when they first see one of the many images of a women, priestess or primordial Goddess holding a frame drum and realize how far spread the practice was and how pervasive among all cultures that drumming is.

​

The mythic practice of the frame drum was eventually forbidden, then hidden, but was never forgotten…⚪️

​

People are once again discovering the power of frame drumming.