Cameroon drum-makers cash in on its popularity

STORY: Cameroon drum-makers cash in on its popularity DATELINE: May 2, 2022 LENGTH: 00:05:25 LOCATION: Yaounde CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of slit drum makers working 2. SOUNDBITE (French): MARTIN MBEZELE ZAMBO, Slit drum maker 3. various of local artists dancing to music played by slit drum STORYLINE: In Ekali, a village on the outskirts of Cameroon's capital city Yaounde, the rhythms of tam-tam, a centuries-old traditional drum fills the air. Martin Mbezele Zambo has made a name for himself in the village as one of the best tam-tam drum makers. At 42, Zambo has spent most of his life making tam-tam of all sizes and colors and other typical African drums. Zambo and six other drum-makers used tree trunks drums. They then put animal skin over the top of the hollowed trunk, stretching it, and tying it down, or made the Balafon instrument by using a series of wooden bars, or keys and resting them on a bamboo frame. It is an ancestral know-how that is passed on from generation to

CAMEROON-CENTRE REGION-TAM-TAM MAKING

CAMEROON-CENTRE REGION-TAM-TAM MAKING

(220501) -- YAOUNDE, May 1, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Martin Mbezele Zambo carries the tam-tam he made in a workshop in Centre region, Cameroon, April 29, 2022. TO GO WITH "Feature: Cameroon drum-makers cash in on its popularity" (Photo by Kepseu/Xinhua)

CAMEROON-CENTRE REGION-TAM-TAM MAKING

CAMEROON-CENTRE REGION-TAM-TAM MAKING

(220501) -- YAOUNDE, May 1, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Martin Mbezele Zambo works in a tam-tam workshop in Centre region, Cameroon, April 29, 2022. TO GO WITH "Feature: Cameroon drum-makers cash in on its popularity" (Photo by Kepseu/Xinhua)

CAMEROON-CENTRE REGION-TAM-TAM MAKING

CAMEROON-CENTRE REGION-TAM-TAM MAKING

(220501) -- YAOUNDE, May 1, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Martin Mbezele Zambo plays the drums in a tam-tam workshop in Centre region, Cameroon, April 29, 2022. TO GO WITH "Feature: Cameroon drum-makers cash in on its popularity" (Photo by Kepseu/Xinhua)