Africa Study Guide chapter 10 Timeline 192 Progressive colonization and foreign domination of sub Saharan Africa collapse of traditional African nations 15th 20th centuries Slave trade African diaspora 17th 19th centuries National independence movements emerge post 1945 Ghana becomes independent 1957 Mali becomes independent 1960 Dahomey Benin becomes independent 1960 Apartheid ends Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa 1994 Release of Ancient Strings first internationally distributed recording featuring the kora 1971 Release of Shaka Zulu by Ladysmith Black Mambazo featuring Unomathemba 1987 Ang lique Kidjo releases Black Ivory Soul featuring Okan Bale 2002 Musical Africanisms 202 03 Complex polyphonic textures 2 3 polyrhythm percussive aesthetic space between notes Textures featuring multiple layers of instruments voices are common in sub Saharan Africa Layered ostinatos with varied repetition A standard device for creating polyphony in sub Saharan African music is the layering of multiple recurring patterns ostinatos one on top of another Conversational element call and response Sub Saharan African musics are frequently conversational in character whether literally figuratively or metaphorically Improvisation To invent with little to no preparation Improvisation is a hallmark of sub Saharan African musical expression Even in relatively set compositions that have been passed down through the generations or that are 1 now transmitted via music notation the incorporation of improvisation sometimes subtle sometimes pronounced is usually expected Timbral variety burred timbre Musicians in sub Saharan Africa tend to exploit a wide range of timbral possibilities Rather than aiming for a pure tone African singers and instrumentalists may manipulate their voices and instruments to produce buzzing timbres and other timbral effects Distinctive pitch systems and scales Certain types of scales modes and tuning systems are found widely and in varied forms throughout sub Saharan Africa Study Items Akan people 191 193 a group of people that reside in Ghana and the ivory coast in West Africa drum speech 193 By replicating the pitch rhythm and timbre patterns of verbal speech certain Akan drums such as the atumpan are literally capable of speaking themselves in tonal languages tonal language 193 The meaning of a word in a tonal language like Twi is determined not just by the actual sounds of its syllables but also by the specific patterns of pitch rhythm and timbral in ection with which it is articulated The exact same word can thus mean completely different things if the pitch rhythm and timbre with which it is uttered are altered atumpan 193 an akan drum that is capable of speaking in tonal languages the path and the river 193 The river and the path are literal parts of the Akan world They are also metaphors with multiple levels of meaning Just as the path must meet the river the Akan must cut their own paths toward communion with the sources of their creation divine ancestral familial and natural They also must aim to follow their individual pathways toward intersection with one another and mutual support The ideal of mutual interdependence is of key importance for 2 Akan people polyvocality 194 music consisting of many voices kora 194 a plucked chordophone instrument of the Mandes people of West Africa with centuries of history Mande peoples 194 a large group of ethnic groups in West Africa who speak any of the many related Mande languages spread throughout the region jeliya 194 the musical repertoire of the hereditary praise singer griot 194 a member of a class of traveling poets musicians and storytellers who practice jeliya and maintain a tradition of oral history in parts of West Africa Isicathamiya Ladysmith Black Mambazo Joseph Shabalala Shaka Zulu 195 Isicathamiya is an a cappella unaccompanied vocal genre that emerged out of a synthesis of traditional music of Zulu peoples in southern Africa and Christian hymnody introduced by European missionaries Paul Simon Graceland 195 famous American musician that worked with the South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo in his album Graceland size population of African 196 About one sixth of the world s population resides in Africa itself and millions of people of African descent reside throughout the world African diaspora 196 the scattering of African people throughout the world largely in part due to slave trade North Africa Arab culture Islam 196 This region includes Egypt Libya Tunisia Algeria Morocco and other North African nations Islam is the dominant religion of North Africa and Arab culture is pervasive throughout the region sub Saharan Africa 196 The majority portion of the African continent located 3 south of the Sahara West Africa enslaved people 196 West African musical traditions are rich and varied in and of themselves and have had a profound impact on the course of musical developments worldwide over the past several centuries This was the region of the continent from which most African slaves were brought to the Americas In the Americas African and European derived musics blended to form the foundations of many new types and styles of music African derived and European derived musics 196 rag time blues jazz rhythm and blues soul rock and roll rap hip hop salsa Cuban son Puerto Rican bomba Trinidadian steel band Jamaican reggae Brazilian samba etc Religion communal ritual and music 197 last full paragraph Religion is a pervasive force in life throughout sub Saharan Africa Islam and Christi anity are widespread though their practice often represents a syncretism with indigenous forms of African religion that predated their arrival There are hundreds if not thousands of religions practiced in sub Saharan Africa The diversity of religious belief and practice is immense Paying homage and due respect to deities venerated ancestors community leaders and elders and the creative and sustaining forces of nature is a major priority of religious practice and social life generally Often this takes the form of communal rituals involving music and the active participation of all in attendance whether through singing playing instruments dancing clapping or some other mode of participation The collective expression of the community as a whole diverse in its individual components polyvocal in its articulation unified in its totality is highly valued in the act of paying homage The spiritual social values of paying homage
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