Xava : War Drummer

What better way to start the new year than paint a personal piece?

I'm back in the world of the Xava, to them the drum is a very important item, far more than a 'simple' musical instrument, it connects villages over distance, it marks all kind of ceremonies and occasions, from births to naming days, coming of age, weddings, healing rituals, funerals... in the hands of a skilled player a drum can laugh, sing and cry. In the hands of a spirit-inspired player, one of the very few hereditary shaman-drummers a drum is a thing of awe, power... and fear.

The Xava are a peaceful people, the young sometimes organize incursions into other villages to prove themselves by stealing food of animals without being caught, but those are tests of skill that, barring incidents, cause no bloodshed. Sometimes though they have to defend themselves from Ubaara raiding parties, bent on sacking or kidnapping and, in the unlucky case an Ubaara queen comes to brood too near a village, the Xava go to war, and their shaman-drummers with them.

Special thanks to my lovely collegue Kirsi Salonen for modeling ther drummer, I couldn't have hoped for a better model than a wonderfully talented fellow artist.
If you don't know her works, do yourself a favor and check them out [link]