Craft a Pow-wow drum and mallet

The Kaya doll also has a 
similar jingle dress. It has a
pow-wow drum and mallet
to go with it.

        You can include the authentic Native American designs below on the top of your Kaya doll's ceremonial Pow-wow drum. Host drums at a pow-wow are responsible for singing the songs at the beginning and end of a pow-wow session, generally a starting song, the grand entry song, a flag song, and veterans or victory song to start the pow-wow, and a flag song, retreat song, and closing song to end the pow wow. Additionally, if a pow-wow has gourd dancing, the Southern Host Drum is often the drum that sings all the gourd songs, though another drum can perform them. The host drums are often called upon to sing special songs during the modern pow-wow.

        The Kaya American Girl Doll comes with both the traditional deer skin clothing and the modern ceremonial pow-wow clothing that many Native Americans girls only wear during special occasions. 

• The pink jingle dress with drum and mallet from 2014
• The turquoise pow-wow dress from 2011

Native Americans Share More Online:

• Beat Your Drum from glor Ennis
• Bele Bele - Bumbada women drumming groups Fanga
• Here is  Lakota Tribe Powwow drum circle
• From hand drum championship 2018

hand held pow-wow drums

Supply list for all 3 crafts:

• a recycled masking tape holder (cardboard tube)
• recycled salt boxes and oatmeal cans too!
• large lids, recycled for hand-held drums
• extra cardboard
• brown paper bag
• faux wood printed paper (optional)
• driftwood cuts from a dollar store
• white school glue
• masking tape
• natural colored string or twine
• permanent black ink pen
• design ideas (First Nation Symbol Figures) (animal symbolism)
• acrylic paints: browns and tans
• a cotton tip applicator (for mallet(s)
• gold or tan felt and matching thread
• toothpicks and wooden skewers
• Mod Podge
• hot glue and hot glue gun

Step-by-Step Instructions: hand-held drums

1. Cover a lid with brown paper and white glue. Let it dry.
2. Tape and glue a string 'web' weave design over the open end of the covered jar lid. see photos
3. Using a pencil, draw a decorative symbol from those shown below or from one of the many websites linked to on this post, onto the top of the paper covered lit. Retrace the design with a permanent black ink marker.
4. Modge Podge the surfaces to help keep these clean and durable.

Large, free-standing pow-wow drums and drumsticks

The drumsticks before covered with
brown paper and feathers.

Step-by-Step Instructions: free-standing, large Pow-wow drums

1. To make the larger Pow-wow drums, cut saltbox cans or oatmeal cans to your preferred size, I made two,  one of these 3 1/2 inches tall and another 2 inches tall. Leave on end on every drum you make covered with cardboard. These will be the shells of each drum. Face the covered ends up while crafting. The open ends will not be seen.
2. Cover these with masking tape, then white glue and brown paper. I covered the edges of these toy drums using woodgrain paper as well, but this step is completely optional. The paper covering represents the drumhead or skin, this is what native people stretched over the shell to strike with their drum sticks or beaters. The shell was made of stretched skins and these were stretched with sinew thongs, but you will use twine or string to represent these in this craft project.
3. Glue on natural looking twine, in a "X" shape pattern all around the edges of each drum. 
4. Finish the edges by using masking tape to cover the tips of the twine. 
5. Layer on a final finished looking application of clean brown paper across the top of the drums. 
6. I painted these tops with brown. Mod Podge the surfaces.
7. Hot glue on the driftwood supports to make the drums a bit taller and more finished, if you prefer. Native drums this large are usually kept from contacting the ground on a platform of some kind.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Beaters or Drumsticks

1. Making the beaters is easy! Cut skewers to the length you prefer.
2. Using white glue, wrap white cotton fluff around each end or one till it looks like a beater. 
3. Paint the surfaces of the beater as you like or cover these with brown paper. See photos above.
4. Glue on feathers for decoration.
5. Mod Podge every surface in the end.
6. An even easier way to make drumsticks is to paint Q-tips and then seal with Mod Podge! 

Read more about First Nations Symbolism pdf. and
Check out our collection of native symbolism here.

 

How to Pow-wow dance for kids.