Shamanic Drum making supplies are now available @Anima Pacha Drums website
- Ilona Dovey
- Sep 7
- 6 min read
Stepping deeper into the path – Drum making supplies now emerging
This feels like a quiet, but significant threshold I am crossing this year and one that has been forming beneath the surface for quite some time. Like so many things in life that are truly meaningful, this next step has been slowly brewing under the radar… whispering, unfolding, asking me to trust in its timing.
2025 is a year of significant changes in my life, and through pain, I am learning to trust the Spirit's guidance.
I am now slowly beginning to stock drum-making supplies, and although this may seem like a small shift on the outside, it carries great meaning for me personally and spiritually.
Over the past year, especially, I have felt the call to pour more of myself back into this path as this path isn’t just a business, but a living, breathing relationship with the sacred, with the land, and with the community of souls who walk alongside me. I have been reinvesting not only financially, but also energetically, emotionally, and with a deeper sense of devotion. This feels like the right time to begin sharing some of these offerings with others who are walking similar paths.
Drums have been companions on my journey for almost 7 years now. They are more than tools or instruments; they are alive with spirit and carry individual stories. They become an extension of our own heartbeat. The process of creating a drum, whether for yourself or another, is a rite of passage, a dance between the matter and the mystery. It feels incredibly special to have an opportunity to be supporting others in that sacred process by offering the materials needed to bring their own drums to life.
Right now, I am starting small and only offering a small quantity of ethically sourced water buffalo hides, which come from a family-run business that I deeply respect. These hides are strong, beautiful, and carry a grounded, earthy spirit. Alongside them, I have 20" wooden drum frames available — sturdy, well-made, and ready to hold what’s being called through.
This is just the beginning and as I make my next orders, I will be expanding the range to include different sizes of drum frames, and a broader selection of hides to meet different needs and preferences. Some people are drawn to the deep resonance of buffalo; others feel more connected to the energy of deer.
And speaking of deer, I will also be offering deer hides and hopefully later this year, most likely in the autumn months. That feels appropriate, as autumn is a time of gathering, remembering, and coming home to the deeper layers of ourselves. Deer carries such a gentle, intuitive medicine. I feel honoured to be able to make these available when the time is right.
This unfolding isn’t about rushing or chasing growth. It’s about deep listening and aligning with the natural rhythms of the land and of life. I don’t see this as a commercial venture in the traditional sense, but rather, as a weaving of sacred intention, community, and creative expression. A way for each of us to come closer to the drum, to the Earth, and to our own inner rhythm.
If you’ve felt the call to craft your own drum, or perhaps guide others in making theirs, then perhaps this might be the nudge, the doorway, or the confirmation you have been waiting for. I will continue to share updates as new supplies become available, and I am always here if you have questions, are seeking something specific, or simply want to connect around the sacred art of drum making.
How the Shamanic Drums Found Me: A Story of Remembering
Sometimes, it’s not us who discovers something - but something discovers us.
When I returned from Peru in 2016, something in me had shifted. It was more than a shift, it was a complete reorientation of how I understood myself, the world, and my place in it. I didn’t have the words for it then, only the deep knowing that I could no longer live the same way I had before. The life I followed before embarking on a path with the plant medicine had caused so much suffering. The ceremonies, the land and the spirit of the Amazon jungle cracked me open most beautifully and terrifyingly. And when I came back to my "normal" life, nothing quite fit anymore. I was in a kind of spiritual freefall, searching for meaning, for guidance, for grounding and integration.
That is when I discovered the Edinburgh Shamanic Centre and enrolled to one of their courses, not just to learn about shamanism, but also to try and make sense of everything I was going through and to o understand the language that my soul had begun speaking. Looking back now, I see it clearly - this wasn’t just a decision, this was an initiation. A path that had already been chosen by my spirit guides long before I could comprehend it. At the end of my first year of training, we were asked to own a Shamanic drum. I knew in my bones that I couldn’t just buy one. This wasn’t a commodity to me. It was a relationship, and that relationship had to begin at the very beginning - with bringing my soul drum to life by myself. So, I gathered what I needed: rawhide, frame, lacing, a few scattered YouTube tutorials - and I created my first drum.
It was imperfect, I remade it, then remade it again and again...
Each time, I learned something new - not just about the process, but about myself. Creating that first Shamanic Drum, I was being taught about patience, humility and sacredness to Mother Earth. The spirits were teaching me, gently and with humour, through every mistake. Eventually, my first Shamanic Drum was born - a living being, infused with my breath, my prayers, my trial and error. And I knew something had awakened in me.
Word began to spread quietly. Friends asked if I could make them a drum too, but not for money - just as an exchange for a massage, a healing session, raw cacao or something else. It felt all very organic, very heart-led. I never planned to become a drum maker. It wasn’t even a “thing” I thought I’d do, but Spirit had other ideas.
What began as a curiosity slowly unfolded into a sacred calling. Each drum I made became a ceremony in itself - each one carrying the unique medicine of the person it was meant for. No two drums are ever the same, as each one of them is holding a sacred story, a song, and a spirit.
The spirit of the drum walked beside me, whispered to me, and guided me - patiently waiting until I was ready to listen. Shamanic Drums has chosen me to hopefully share as much healing with the world as I possibly can.
Even after all these years, I’m still amazed by this process. Every time I sit down to birth a drum, it feels like the first time, and I certainly don’t make these drums alone. They are created through me, not by me. It is my spirit guides who guide my hands, who sing through the rawhide, who whisper the shapes and knots into being. I am simply the vessel. The observer. The witness.
The more I do this work, the more I learn to step aside. Not to cling, control or shape the whole process with ego, but to allow the energy to flow through me. There is nothing particularly special about me. I am not the drum maker, or the healer, I am simply one who answered the call, and continues to show up with gratitude.
This is Spirit’s work. I’m just the channel. And that, in itself, is the greatest honour I can experience.
Now, almost 7 years later, I offer this medicine forward - with reverence, humility, and joy.
If you’re reading this and you feel a similar whisper... maybe it’s your time too. Maybe the drum is calling you home.
With all my heart,
Ilona - Snowy Feather
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