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A woman can sing and dance but cannot dance with high leaps: musical performance of the Haya of Bukoba, Tanzania
Get PDFIn the area covering the present day Muleba and Bukoba Urban and Bukoba Rural Districts, as is the case in other areas where Buhaya culture is predominant in the Kageraregion in Tanzania, musical performances - singing, dancing, and playing of musical instruments - are integral parts of everyday life. As is the case in many African societies, among the Haya musical performances are inseparable from the daily events and the social, political and cultural life of the community. Traditionally, events such as marriage, funerals, worship, installation, praise, and exaltation of kings (omukama), celebratory war dances (omutoro) and heroic recitations or self-praise recitations (ebyebugo), healing practices such as cleansing and chasing away evil spirits, and all occasions calling for celebration produced performances. In the contemporary Haya world, some such events (for example, war dances and installation of traditional leaders) have ceased, but the musical performances have been re-contextualized for religious, social, health and political purposes
Playing techniques of the nnanga of Buganda
Get PDFThe nnanga is a bowed-neck harp found in the Buganda kingdom, located on Lake Victoria in southern Uganda. At one time groups of musicians resided in the king\u27s royal enclosure, called the lubiri, to perform for the king. Of these musicians, the player of the nnanga had the most candid access to the king. He was the only musician allowed to play privately for the king and his wives. The harp player was also a vocal improviser and poet, and through his song texts he was able to advise and critique the king. The nnanga player was also arguably the sole figure among the court musicians who could produce the repertoire played on all the court instruments
The trans-atlantic journey of Gumbé: where and why has it survived?
Get PDFThe word \u27gumbe\u27 is extremely difficult to define. Gumbé can refer to a specific drum, dance, rhythm or social context. For the purposes of my research I define gumbé as both a drum and a genre of dance music. Ultimately the drum and the genre are inherently linked: tracing the transatlantic journey of the gumbe drum illuminates varying conceptions of gumbé as a genre
Performing advocacy: women\u27s music and dance in Dagbon, northern Ghana
Get PDFThe goal of this article is to provide a mediated experience of Dagbamba women\u27s music and dance and to share some of the most rewarding aspects of fieldwork where music, dance, friendship, chance, and circumstance have all converged to illuminate particular moments of advocacy among women. While many Dagbamba women (and men) are Muslim, ancestral worship, herbalism, and spirit possession all coexist along with \u27modern\u27 medicine, Christianity, the internet, satellite TV, and cell phones. This article aims to highlight how women\u27s music and dance interact within this complex cultural milieu by examining issues found in and around the music itself. This article argues that women\u27s involvement with singing and dancing can create a transformative space where advocacy, agency, catharsis, and social critique can all take place. Several questions are of particular interest, including: What are the female roles in music and dance around Tamale? What kind of knowledge or critique is passed on or expressed through song? How does music create a transformative space for women in Tamale
Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra: Five Musical Years in Ghana. Steven Feld. 2012. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 328 pp.
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