Drumming Away HIV/AIDS: Burundian Drummers in Utah Take HIV Prevention to Another Level

ENTERTAINMENT APPROACHES to health education and disease prevention have become popular in many HIV/AIDS intervention efforts.^1–3 Using dance and theater can overcome existing literacy barriers, add a personal, face-to-face aspect of communication that uses the language and idioms of the people, and provoke emotional and analytical audience responses.⁴

Burundian drummers in Utah perform to convey an HIV prevention message. Courtesy of Alex Ngendakuriyo of Jambo Africa Burundi Drummers.

Burundi drums are used for more than musical entertainment. They are used to announce important events, commemorate special occasions, and deliver special messages. The drums are made from hollowed-out trunks of umuvugangoma trees (the tree that makes drums talk) and are covered with dried animal skins. These dramatic pictures capture Burundi refugee drummers in Utah performing at a local entertainment event. In this spectacle of dance and music, the skillful drummers, in traditional Burundi attire, pound the log drums rhythmically and with incredible stamina. A drummer leaps and spins with tremendous energy while singing to the beat of “jikinge na ukimwi” (“protect yourself from HIV”). The message is, “Abstain from sex, be faithful if you do not abstain, or use a condom if you are not faithful.” This message is commonly referred to as ABC. In the dance, it is conveyed through rhythmic beats and the spirit that lives within the drum.