The Emaa Da (Eh-MAH-ah  Dah) drumming ensemble is on tour to local elementary schools this month. Fourteen students from Early College High School at Chemeketa Community College are current performing members.

So far, the musical group has held assemblies at Scott, Swegle, Four Corners and Highland elementary schools. On Friday, May 29th, they will be performing for Salem Heights (10:30 a.m.) and Lamb (12:45 p.m.). In past years, many other Salem-Keizer schools have been visited by the group. The drummers raise funds each year in order to complete this community service project. The performances are free-of-charge to the elementary schools, but cost the group approximately $175 per assembly for expenses.

Emaa Da performs traditional Afro-Cuban hand drumming rhythms. The group formed in 2001 with start-up funds from the Salem Schools Foundation.

Over the years, Emaa Da has performed at a wide variety of locations including the Seaside Convention Center, the Salem Convention Center, Willamette University, Mission Mill and Western Oregon University.

The drummers' scarves are fashioned out of Kente cloth from Ghana. The group takes its name from the Emaa Da Kente pattern, which is derived from the Ashanti proverb:

DEA EMAA DA ENO NE DEA YENNHUNU NA YENNTE BI DA
What is novel is what we have not seen or heard
in a place before.

Information provided by Leslie Van Meter, teacher at Early College High School