Traditional Haitian Instrument
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Vaccines
Audio file of the Vaccines 
Children Story
THE SINGING WOOD
Author: Marianne Poncelet
Once upon a time there was a little girl who
lived on a lush, mountainous island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. This
island had known many stories. Many people had come to the island, many had
settled there. But it had always kept its splendour and solar power.
This little girl's name was Alizée. She was
born in a family of musicians, because on this island, music was like air: an
indispensable element of life.
She used to go in the forest with her
grandfather and find the tree that would provide the necessary materials to
build beautiful musical instruments. He was a Master-Rara, that is, the leader
of the primitive brass band whose knowledge was transmitted from one generation
to the next. The Rara was also a capacity to enter in contact with the spirits
of nature and to invoke their protection with the help of musical instruments
related to this nature, such as vaccines for example: long bamboo tubes into
which one blows and which produce haunting and hypnotising sounds. There were
also mannoubas - small metal slats attached to a box -, the ogan - an
instrument to accompany the sacred music produced by two pieces of iron
clashing together-, the graj, the ti-gambos and the flute. All these
instruments composed the Rara, and Alizée loved to take part in it, especially around
Carnival, when her island would take on a joyful and festive look.
That morning, she went lightly towards the
nearby forest. She wanted to find the wood that would serve as the material to
create the beautiful vaccine she dreamed of. After walking for some time among
the tall bamboos, she arrived in front of a tall and straight tree raising its
green head to the sky as an offering. It looked like the king of bamboos.
Alizée knelt down in front of him, and asked his permission to take one of its
branches. In return, she gave him a gift: a small statuette she had created
with her own hands from clay of the nearby river. For the soul of the tree had
to be able to live in its music, and for that it required his approval. Leaving
him an offering guaranteed his good will.
Alizée cut a beautiful branch with her little
machete. She smiled at the tree, stroked its bark and then returned to her
grandfather's house. He adjusted the piece of bamboo, and inserted a small
membrane into it to produce sounds more easily. He also attached a leather
mouthpiece and gave it to the little girl, promising her that every time she would
blow into the piece of bamboo, the wood would sing and perhaps the world would
respond.
Alizée ran to the nearby sea and blew into the
vaccine. A deep sound came out of it, so beautiful, so deep, so haunting, that
the sea waves seemed to hesitate for a moment. It was like time was suspended. All
of a sudden, a dolphin came out of the water and answered the little girl. They
exchanged many sounds, full of laughter and splashes. Then the dolphin dove back
into the sea and disappeared.
Alizée gazed at the horizon, then stroked her
musical instrument. She not only had a piece of wood in her hands that sang,
but she also had the key to a new world.
She left smiling, hugging her beautiful singing
wood against her heart.
You can dowload the children story here:
English French
