Ancestral African Rhythms Keeper

PENCHMI: The African Drum+Dance+Chant Portal

The word Penchmi (in Senegalese Wolof is written “Penthmi)” is the word we use to describe the gathering of the ancestors, timeless/spaceless, to discuss all matters of life, justice and peace, but most of all to remind us of the LOVE and RESPECT shared among each other.

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Dembis Thioung invites you on a journey to ancient West Africa to learn and embody traditional rhythms, activate collective remembrance and manifest ancestral desires for peace, celebrating togetherness and honoring unity in diversity. Bayefalls welcome people from all backgrounds and believe in the importance of tolerance, acceptance, and love for all humanity.

In this portal, participants are encouraged to connect with themselves and each other through sound, movement, and the wisdom of the ancestral drums. These sessions are hosted under the value of "Teranga": the act of sharing and supporting each other always in happiness. Its core virtue is to measure wealth and abundance not by how much we have, but by how much we share and give to others. "Teranga" is the essence of Senegalese culture. As a Bayefall by heart and a Griot by blood, my mission here in the UK is to expand and transmit the ancestral wisdom of our powerful West African traditions through drumming. Opening energetic portals through sound allows us to connect with our ancient natural ways in the present, bringing awareness and the willingness to manifest a rising future in unity. To achieve this, we create a safe collective healing space that enables us to reenergize the body, mind, and spirit, connecting together inwardly, outwardly, and with the ancestral realm—reminding us all of our origins.​

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Taking as a reference the teachings of my spiritual Senegalese leader, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, who led a nonviolent spiritual revolution against the oppression of the French colonizers, along with his disciple Ibrahim Fall, I intend in all my drumming to transmit their values: nonviolent fighting, peace, tolerance, respect, hard work, selfless service to others, the significance of cultural identity, self-sufficiency, forgiveness—the way on how we can become truly humane again.

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My drumming is inclusive to everybody—of all ages, races, genders, levels, and faiths—open for people to express fully, freely, and respectfully. The message from our ancestors is clear: some have tried to annihilate us, some said we are no more, but we are here. Our ancestors are always with us, and we are here to remember the old, ancient, righteous, natural ways that will lead us closer to our divine selves—a powerful transformation that will take us to a state of constant bliss, peace, and wellness.

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Embracing natural spaces, local parks, central heaths, seaside, forest schools, medicine festivals, solstice & equinox cerimonies, street carnivals, life celebrations, climate tech festivals, theatre crew rehearsals, Dembis Thioung's PENCHMI: The African Drum + Dance + Chant Portal has transformed many hearts & souls all over UK.

DEMBIS THIOUNG