Africa Study Guide chapter 10 Timeline 192 15th 20th Centuries Progressive colonization and foreign domination of sub Saharan Africa decline destruction and collapse of traditional African nations 17th 19th Centuries Slave trade African diaspora Post 1945 National independence movements emerge and develop throughout Africa in transitional period into Africa s postcolonial era 1957 Ghana becomes independent formerly British colony 1960 Mali becomes independent formerly French colony Dahomey renamed Benin in 1975 becomes independent formerly French colony 1994 Apartheid ends Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa 1971 Release of Ancient String by Sidiki Diabate and Djelimadi Sissoko first internationally distributed recording featuring the kora 1987 Release of Shaka Zulu by Ladysmith Black Mambazo featuring Unomathemba 2002 Ang lique Kidjo releases Black Ivory Soul featuring Iwoya and Okan Bale Musical Africanisms 202 03 Complex polyphonic textures textures featuring multiple layers of instruments voices are common in sub Saharan Africa 2 3 polyrhythm percussive aesthetic space between notes 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 ostinato patterns tend to recur in varied forms rather than in the same form each time varied repition Conversational element call and response have many voices all speaking at once complementing and commenting upon one another s utterances conversational character in sub Saharan African performance defined by dialogue of sound and movement Improvisation is common even in relatively set compositions that have been 1 passed down through generations sometimes subtle sometimes pronounced Timbral variety burred timbre rather than aiming for a pure tone they may manipulate their voices and instruments to make buzzing timbres and other timbral effects Example mbira dzavadzimu buzzing sound produced by the rattling of bottle caps that are attached loosely to the instrument s frame Distinctive pitch systems and scales integral to musical aesthetics and style on multiple levels Study Items Akan people 191 193 People of Ghana West Africa famous proverb says river comes from the divine source of creation and provides the water that is the source of life and human sustenance and it connects Akan people who find meaning in the proverb to Odomankoma their Creator Yet it is the path that connects the Akan to the Tano River marking the routes and roots of human existence along the way The path must meet the river to find its earthly purpose yet the river must be met by the path to fulfill its own divine purpose which is of utmost importance to the Akan Both the river and path are essential and indivisible in Akan culture drum speech 193 a way in which the Akan proverb or other stories may be recited using drums rather than words meaning of a word in a language is determined by specific patterns of pitch rhythm and timbral inflection which is imitated by a drum sometimes call and response with each spoken part the call replicated in drum speech that follows it the response especially during the Akan proverb using the atumpan tonal language 193 meaning of a word in a tonal language such as Twi is determined not just by the actual sounds of its syllables but also by the specific patterns of pitch rhythm and timbral inflection with which it is articulated the exact same word may have a different meaning due to pitches and different accents on syllables Example akonta if pronounced a kon TA with the highest pitch and an accent on the last syllable is understood to mean brother in law while a KON ta accent and highest pitch on the middle syllable translates as mathematics 2 atumpan 193 an Akan drum used in drum speech by replicating the pitch rhythm and timbre patterns of verbal speech to become capable of speaking itself Example CD ex 3 12 the path and the river 193 famous Akan proverb The river crosses the path the path crosses the river who is elder The river crosses the path the path crosses the river who is elder The path was cut to meet the river the river is of old the river comes from odomankoma the Creator The river and path are literal parts of the Akan world as well as 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 must follow individual pathways toward intersection with one another and mutual support mutual interdependence is key importance for Akan people polyvocality 194 music of many sounds or many parts many voices kora 194 shaped like a lute with 21 strings passing over a high bridge and played like a harp a plucked chordophone of the Mande people preserved in the art of jeliya has taken on a new life as a prominent musical instrument in a wide range of both African and international popular intercultural jazz and world beat music circles Mande peoples 194 peoples of western Africa with a history dating back centuries jeliya 194 an art in which the ancient legacy of the kora is preserved the musical repertoire of the hereditary praise singer or griots art of the griot griot 194 families among the Mande a member of a class of traveling poets musicians and storytellers who maintain a tradition of oral history in parts of West Africa Isicathamiya 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 initially developed mainly by black South African migrant laborers in 20th century it became an important 3 symbol and medium of cultural expression for Zulus and other black South Africans and formed the basis of a vibrant and exciting music competition tradition where representative groups from different townships went head to head in musical battles that also highlighted intricate choreography and impressive showmanship Ladysmith Black Mambazo South African vocal group the dominant force in isicathamiya music for decades under direction of longtime leader Joseph Shabalala met Paul Simon in 1980 s who featured Joseph Shabalala longtime leader of Ladysmith Black Mambazo Shaka Zulu 195 Ladysmith s own first U S released album produced by Paul Simon won a Grammy Award and garnered widespread commercial success and critical
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