Mother Drum keeps universal heartbeat

Slideshow: GrandMother Drum tour visits Chattanooga

The Grandmother Drum represents the heartbeat of humanity, according to drum keeper White Eagle medicine woman.

“One drum, one heartbeat, one family, one Earth,” is how White Eagle, born Suraj Holzwarth, describes the seven-foot diameter drum.

About 1,500 strips of wood form the kettle-shaped drum that is in Chattanooga as part of an international tour for peace.

“The drum is a living, beating symbol that Mother Earth is our one country, that love is stronger than fear and that peace and freedom are the birthright of all humanity,” the drum keeper said.

Not only is the tour dedicated to peace, both within individuals and among the world’s nations, it also aims to heal past hurts, White Eagle said.

“We have walked on many sacred lands,” she said. “This drum tour is an undoing of the suffering for souls who walked the Trail of Tears.”

More than 100 people gathered at the Unitarian Universalist Church heard tales related to the drum’s seven-year touring history, learned about American Indian lore and joined in a tribal drum circle.

“For nine months in the womb we hear the drumbeat of our mother’s heart,” said Rita Burrows, of Vancover Island, British Columbia. “People are looking to connect their heartbeat with the rest of the world.”

That drumbeat — that heartbeat — was the central element of more than four hours of New Age prayer/performance Saturday afternoon.

“I really felt a lot of energy from it,” said Ray Minkler, of Monteagle, Tenn., after resting his hands on the buffalo hide drumhead.

Pat Bridges, of McDonald, Tenn., described the Grandmother Drum sound as “the heartbeat of the Earth” and said participating in Saturday’s event was part of an ongoing 30-year spiritual journey.

The drum will be used during the 11 a.m. service at the Unitarian Universalist Church this morning, according to Suzanna Alexander, coordinator for the Grandmother Drum tour in Chattanooga.

In addition to a 10,000-year-old Mayan Fire Ceremony that is being held this afternoon at the church, White Eagle on Monday will visit Ross’s Landing, The Passage and other Cherokee related sites downtown before visiting Red Clay State Park, site of Cherokee government from 1832 until the Trail of Tears in 1838.

Drum facts

* The drum shell’s six wooden layers to represent the habitated continents.

* The drum blends styles of drums found in Africa, North and South America, and India.

* Information about the drum can be found at www.whirlingrainbow.com