Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Background Preparation
} Worlds second-largest continent; home to nearly three thousand separate ethnic
groups.
} Most areas are still rural and have limited infrastructure.
} Farming is a primary occupation, although many people living in areas rich in natural
resources, such as diamonds and coal, are employed by large mining companies and
related industries.
} Cultural Zones:
} Pan-Arabic: includes the countries bordering the mediterranean sea.
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} The Sahel zone: including those areas dominated by the Sahra desert.
} Sub-Saharan Africa: rest of the continent, south of the Sahara desert.
} Nearly 3,000 separate ethnic groups
} Roughly 1,800 spoken languages
} European languages common due to decades of European presence &
colonialism.
} The political borders of present-day Africa are the result of European colonial
occupations (19th century & early 20th century)
} 1884 Berlin Conference: European countries and governments that had
no colonial stake in the region (ex. U.S.A), divided the territorial right
to most central and southern Africa without the presence or
participation of a single African.
} New African nations were formed with little regard for the cultural
differences of the various peoples contained within their borders.
} Though colonialism affected many of the cultural activities of African peoples,
traditional practices still thrive throughout the continent, especially in rural
areas. Islam and Christianity have long existed in sub-Saharan Africa, but the
influence of earlier animistic traditions remain visible in the ritual activity of
many believers of the mainstream institutionalized religions.
} African Beliefs;
} Community is social focus
} I am, because we are.
} Community includes living and ancestors
} Music-Singing-Dance: usually described with the same terminology, because they are
considered inseperable.
} The emphasis on the collective community that characterizes traditional African life is
reflected in three main activities associated with music;
} Communal dances:
} Informal Dance,
} spontaneous dance participations (for brief individual
expressions)
} Formal Dance:
} Usually in ritual contexts (ex. trance dancing);
} Choreography is set, and may not include opportunities for
individual expression.
} Performed with some social function in mind, i.e. honoring
royalty or inviting ancestral spirits to participate in communal
events.
} Call & Response singing
} Vocal performances occurring in religious ceremonies or other ritual
activities, in the context of story telling, dance or royal functions, or
merely an enterta,nment.
} question by the performer answer by the group.
} Use of polyrhythm in instrumental performance
} Polyrhythm: Multiple rhythm = the organizational basis for most
sub-Saharan African music traditions.
} For centuries, the polyrhytmic music traditions of the region were
largely incomprehensible to outsiders
} The dense rhythms were characterized as chaotic by missionaries or
explorers.
} Colonial governments suppressed these musical practices and often
labeled the wild playing associated with pagan rituals as evil music
that corrupted the soul.
} Oral tradition: by their unique vocal traditions, histories of many of Africas ethnic
groups are passed from generation to generation with oral tradition.
Site 1: Ghana
} West Africa most familiar to outsiders.
} The bulk of Africans forced into slavery by Europeans and Americans during
the colonial period (16th-19th century) were taken from this region.
} As a result the cultural traditions of West Africa were disseminated throughout
the Caribbean and the Americas.
} Spiritual traditions as Voodoo, Candomble and Santeria are from West African
region.
} Textiles and clothing used by African Americans to represent their African
heritage frequently draw on the stylistic features of West African formal attire,
(ex. Kente cloth)
} African music => mosly associated with drumming, and mis-generalized, is actually
from this region (West Africa)
Listening: World Music CD I Track 31: Polyrhtymic Ensemble
} Aural Analysis
} Rhythmic kaleidoscope
} Drums, rattles, bells
} Dondo: A double-headed hourglass-shaped drum form West Africa,
played with a hooked-stick
} Tomtom: a pair of tall, single-headed hand drums
} Afirikyiwa: iron clapper bell
} Maraca: A gourd rattle from Ghana with an external beaded netting
} Cultural Considerations
} Recreational bands
} Formal and Informal contexts
} Master drummers
Site 3: Zimbabwe
} Much of Zimbabwe consists of vast
grasslands inhabited by a variety of
animals such as hippopotamus,
crocodiles etc.
} Mining is a major industry, though
most people earn their living as
farmers, growing tobacco and
various foodstuffs.
} Victoria Falls: One of the most
attractive tourist destinations in
Africa.
} Former British colony; consequently
the official language is English,
though many native languages are
spoken as well.
} Shona ethnic group predominant.
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Hosho
} Aural Analysis
} Mbira (dza vadzimu)
} Hosho and Voice
} Harmonic movement
} Cultural Considerations
} Used in a variety of contexts, such as storytelling, entertainment, and rituals.
} Bira - Spirit possession ceremony. Ancestral spirits are invited to appear to
guide and protect the communty members in their day-to-day activity.
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Site 4: Uganda
} Uganda, along with Kenya and Tanzania, borders Lake Victoria, the second-largest
fresh water lake in the world. Chimpanzees roam through its jungles, and leopards
hunt in grassland regions.
} Most inhabitants are agriculturists, though fishing provides a significant income for
those along the lake.
} Kingdom of Buganda became the regions major power in early 19th century.
} Dictator Idi Amin (r.1971-1979) : massacres, wars, oppression
Akadinda performers
} Cultural Considerations
} Xylophones are among the most common instruments found throughout subSaharan Africa. Some are small enough to be played as solo instruments, and
some are large to be played by group of people.
} The polyrhytmic nature of xylophone performance combines with the use of
melodic pitches to create some of the most complex music on the planet.
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} Uganda is home to many xylophone traditions, but the akadinda is perhaps the
most difficult and highly respected of them. Before the colonial period,
akadinda musicians were part of the musical entourage that accompanied the
kabaka (king) of Buganda. Their music was considered royal and was not
played outside of courtly functions. The melodies played on the akadinda are
believed to be derived from vocal music; thus, though their association with
specific texts, akadinda performances could convey a story or offer praise of
the kabaka without the need of the singer.
} Other xylophones;
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Kora
} Cultural Considerations
} Praise-singing: the texts of jali praise songs may relate to a specific individual ( a
family lineage), but frequently they deal more generally with the great deeds of the
Mandinka people and with Mandinka history.
} Spraying: placing money on jalis forehead, or by putting money in his instrument
through the resonator hole.
} Jalis ability to praise the names of so many hundreds of ancestors => considered as a
supernatural power.
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} Cultural Considerations
} Townships: Labor camps in which many blacks were forced to live in the years of the
Apartheid.
} Mbube competitions
Questions to consider
How do the principal musical manifestations found in sub-Saharan Africa reflect the
collective community and encourage group participation?
In what ways do Highlife and other types of popular music in sub-Saharan Africa draw on
traditional music for inspiration?
What role does music play in maintaining oral histories and legitimizing royalty?
In what ways has music in South Africa reflected the particular history of the country?
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