The Ka, to the rhythm of the hearts of Guadeloupeans

In his workshop located on the edge of the Riviera, in Le Gosier, Claudius Barbin opens the doors of his workshop to us. A place where you can hear, from the outside, the sounds of the gwoka resonate.

Claudius Barbin is a local celebrity. Self-taught, he achieved true excellence in his art. If he has been creating Ka for 25 years, it is for the love of music and his country. Follow me, I tell you...

Designing a Ka: high-precision gestures

“Give yourself the pleasure of entering. Not the pain, but the pleasure.”

This is how Claudius Barbin welcomes a client from Saint-Martin to his studio in Le Gosier. We laugh, we exchange a good word, we call the husband to thank Claudius. We even extend the friendliness to offer bubble wrap for transport by boat, and to take the Ka in the lady's trunk. It is in this relaxed and benevolent atmosphere that Claudius Barbin shows me how he works.

Claudius Barbin is a perfectionist. In each aspect of the manufacture of his Ka, he seeks to achieve excellence. When he turns the key to tighten the strings, he always does so on the metal hoop to be sure not to damage the wood of the drum. When he stretches the skin over the zoban, it is by checking the sound produced by the percussion at each setting. Moreover, each Ka is immediately tested by Claudius, as if marking the Ka was part of its birth as a musical instrument. And in those moments, we see how much Claudius loves to play.

Let's take together the steps Claudius always goes through to create a Ka. They are immutable, like the alternation of wintering and Lent, and Claudius manages its different stages like clockwork.

1. The body of the Ka

First, prepare the wood that will be used to create the body of the Ka. Carefully choose the shafts to be cut, cut them into boards, then cut inside rounded pieces, to be carefully assembled to form the body of the instrument. Glue the pieces together, sand the whole thing with 80 grit sandpaper. By leaving the wood a little rough, it can better accommodate the metal strapping. Claudius makes a point of tapping the circles not only so they fit snugly, but also so they line up perfectly with the outer edge of the Ka.

“I am sometimes told that I am a little too boring, that I don't need to go that far… But I think that we cannot be satisfied with little. Man must always surpass himself, strive for perfection.”

And it's not over ! It remains to sand the wood again with sandpaper (180 grain this time), until it is very smooth, to remove all traces of metal. Apply a coat of varnish, adapt the metal circles to secure the clip. Apply a second coat of varnish...

2. Zoban

We can then tackle the zoban, which covers the wooden chest. It is this part of the instrument on which the hand of the tambouyé will strike to make the sound resonate in the round belly of the Ka. We soak the skin of cabri (the local goat) in water before stretching it and sewing it on the metal circle. Once the skin has dried, the zoban is lowered using a press on the Ka. It is placed like a crown that would encircle the head of the Ka.

3. Finishes

Finally, Claudius adjusts the tension of the skin on the zoban by adjusting the tension of the strings that surround the ka. He cuts keys and rounds their angles with a grinder. It is these keys that he turns more or less, playing finely on the goat skin with the help of the ropes and the press.

Once the Ka is properly calibrated, Claudius Barbin carefully cuts the last threads attached to the goat skin. And we see that his hands are as capable of great strength as of great dexterity.

All these steps seem tedious, but I saw Claudius carry them out from start to finish with a master hand. He is a complete craftsman, who masters all aspects related to the manufacture of Ka: he knows how to cut, flatten, refine and even caress the skin of the drum.

“The first person I try to satisfy when I make an instrument is me. I tell myself that if I am satisfied, then the customer will be too. And if I am not, I would understand that the customer is disappointed.”

A humanist vision of his art

One thing touched me a lot: Claudius Barbin always keeps in mind what he considers to be the power of the Ka. He does all this work to resonate the sound of the Ka.

“The Ka is the heartbeat of my country.”

Yes, it is for him much more than a musical instrument. Because it was out of conviction and love for his native land that Claudius embarked on making Ka. At first, he worked the calabash, and produced decorative objects for visitors passing through Guadeloupe. The calabash requires less investment, and it could be easily found at the time. After a few years, Claudius wanted to work more in depth. After a few occasional orders from Ka, he decided to make it his full-time activity.

“There was a quest for Africanity in me. I was not yet aware of it, and it is with maturity that I understood it… but the Ka represents for me the joys, the sorrows, the rebellions of the people of Guadeloupe.”

Even when you are not playing the instrument, the Ka is so representative of Guadeloupean culture that it seems logical to own one. People come from all over the island to buy the Ka created by the hands of Claudius Barbin. And when it is necessary to represent traditional musical instruments, it is still him who is chosen to exhibit and represent our island.

“I want to give beauty to my country. We were sent ugliness, I think we have beauty. All beings are beautiful, for me beauty is the heart."

It is in this process of representation that Claudius Barbin fits. And it goes much further than the manufacture of Ka. He considers that craftsmanship can become a source of employment and development of the local economy. There would indeed be a lot to do to structure craft creation in Guadeloupe. By training the youngest in a trade, for example (on an island where only 39% of 15-29 year olds are active, according to INSEE). By then organizing the supply of raw materials such as wood and goat skin. Claudius Barbin explains to me that he could thus concentrate on his activity, instead of going to get the wood alone in Fougères, or having goat skins delivered from the neighboring islands... So many tasks for which he would like to lean on other actors.

The cultural importance of Ka in Guadeloupe

In college, I learned the 7 main rhythms of the Ka in music class. And even if I liked the practice, I was not aware of the scope of the sounds of the Ka for the Guadeloupean collective imagination.

But playing the Ka is much more than hitting in rhythm. This is an opportunity to revisit our history, to delve into the source of what has made the Ka an instrument of our freedom, a means of expression in its own right, a cell of our identity. The Ka is the central instrument thanks to which the Gwoka takes place, an event that thrills all its participants.

“I have a thirst to value what is authentic in my country.”

The history of Gwoka stems directly from the oppression and enslavement of Africans deported to Guadeloupe. Given their desire to free themselves, gatherings were strictly forbidden: they could have been an opportunity to organize and overthrow the oppressor. This is how the slaves began to express themselves through the Ka.

The Guadeloupe Gwoka was inscribed on November 26, 2014 by UNESCO on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Here is the report that was shot on this occasion:

A tribute: the Claudius luminaire

Following on from their quest to pass on and showcase Guadeloupe's heritage, the Damalia duo (mentioned in this article) found inspiration in Claudius Barbin's workshop. Housed in a space that vibrates to the sound of Ka drums, the two designers created a luminaire in hommage to our Ka drum maker: the “Claudius” luminaire.

Benoît Gaignard's design combines local materials with an eye for detail: the base of the luminaire is made from mahogany, the support is made from banana-tree fiber and the woven bakoua crown surrounds the light point. Cabri skin, an emblematic Ka material, vibrates to the beat of the tambouyés. Here, it becomes a powerful decorative element, carefully pleated and then stained with indigo or campêche wood.

Like the Ka, the Claudius luminaire carries a history, know-how and strong identity. It amplifies the heartbeat of Guadeloupe.

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The works of Claudius Barbin

A compendium of culture and music, real gems