Naut'sa mawt: drum making and community weaving with Hwiemtun

We had the best kind of day at Stowel Lake Farm with Hwiemtun Fred Roland — hands busy, stories flowing, and lots of laughter in between.

As part of the Root to Bloom Learning Centre, a group of a dozen people gathered to learn how to make elk hide hand drums in the Cowichan tradition. Participants discovered that stretching deer hide over a cedar ring is both an art ... and a workout!

There was tugging, adjusting, re-tugging, and a fair amount of good-natured teasing over whose drum was shaping up nicely and whose needed “a little more love.”

Hwiemtun guided us step by step, showing us how to lace the hide with sinew and weave the beautiful “human” shape into the back — the part you hold — reminding us that the drum is about connection.

In between instructions, Hwiemtun shared great stories from his travels — to the Amazon, Germany, Central America — carrying songs and culture across the world. His stories about his global adventures would make an amazing stand-up comedy special, but underneath them were lessons about how we relate to the gift of an animal's hide, and to each other as makers and co-creators that were grounding and humbling.

We also learned about how drums are used in longhouses and ceremony. One teaching that really resonated? Your first drum is meant to be given away. So, urged Hwiemtun, make it with care… and then gift it. A beautiful practice of generosity.

By the end of the day, the room was full of newly made drums, sore hands, big smiles, and that satisfying feeling of having created something real and resonant together. The day was warm, funny, connective, and full of heart.

Grateful for the teachings, the laughter, and the steady rhythm that now feels a little closer to home.