Music of West Africa
Encyclopedia
West Africa
stretches from the Sahara Desert to the Atlantic Ocean
. The region's musical heritage includes a variety of popular music styles, especially from the countries of Senegal
, Ghana
, Mali
, Côte d'Ivoire
, Niger
, Sierra Leone
and Nigeria
. Griot
s, wandering musicians and praise singers, are found throughout the region, and some musical instrument
s (such as the kora
, xalam
, djembe
and talking drum) are found in a majority of West African countries.
speople who have lived a nomad
ic existence, which is true of Mariem Hassan
, a vocalist from the country of Western Sahara
. Restless during occupation by imperialism
; the 1960s saw revoluriona dienot just a few countries in Africa earn their independence, but feel an uncertainty later as various factions took over. One such was Western Sahara, which had previously been a Spanish colony
, with its inhabitants speaking some Spanish, Arabic, and other dialects common to the region. Those who moved to refugee camps found that most often, it was women gaining stature as the storytellers of their past, their existence, and their hopes through their songs and performances.
The Cape Verde Islands have homed and oreserved along the centuries, through being an intermediate port in the Atlantic, rhythms from Europe and the Americas, combined in very popular and rhythmic music. Many of the well-known Cape Verdian musicians have settled in Dakar, where they mingled further with musicians from West Africa.
There have been an extensive coverage in the media during the twenty-first century, especially in relation to the internet; there are a number of website devoted to music from west africa including; africahiphop.com,museke.com but most noticeably and most influential of them all is BiGxGh.Com,[. An online interactive content dedicated to providing the world with the best of African music from the musicians themselves on a daily basis.
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
stretches from the Sahara Desert to the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. The region's musical heritage includes a variety of popular music styles, especially from the countries of Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Griot
Griot
A griot or jeli is a West African storyteller. The griot delivers history as a poet, praise singer, and wandering musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards...
s, wandering musicians and praise singers, are found throughout the region, and some musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s (such as the kora
Kora (instrument)
The kora is a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.-Description:A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge. It does not fit well into any one category of western instruments and would have to be...
, xalam
Xalam
Xalam, also spelled khalam, is the Wolof name for a traditional stringed musical instrument from West Africa. The xalam is thought to have originated from modern-day Mali, but some believe that, in antiquity, the instrument may have originated from ancient Egypt...
, djembe
Djembe
A djembe also known as jembe, jenbe, djbobimbe, jymbe, yembe, or jimbay, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin-covered drum meant played with bare hands....
and talking drum) are found in a majority of West African countries.
Artists from Western Sahara
Some performers are tribeTribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
speople who have lived a nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic existence, which is true of Mariem Hassan
Mariem Hassan
-Life:She was born in 1958 in the Ued Tazua, 20 km. away from Smara . She was the third of a total of 10 siblings of a nomadic family. Although they weren't a Igaouen family, music and poetry was important in the family, as various relatives were singers, poets or dancers...
, a vocalist from the country of Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
. Restless during occupation by imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
; the 1960s saw revoluriona dienot just a few countries in Africa earn their independence, but feel an uncertainty later as various factions took over. One such was Western Sahara, which had previously been a Spanish colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
, with its inhabitants speaking some Spanish, Arabic, and other dialects common to the region. Those who moved to refugee camps found that most often, it was women gaining stature as the storytellers of their past, their existence, and their hopes through their songs and performances.
The Cape Verde Islands have homed and oreserved along the centuries, through being an intermediate port in the Atlantic, rhythms from Europe and the Americas, combined in very popular and rhythmic music. Many of the well-known Cape Verdian musicians have settled in Dakar, where they mingled further with musicians from West Africa.
There have been an extensive coverage in the media during the twenty-first century, especially in relation to the internet; there are a number of website devoted to music from west africa including; africahiphop.com,museke.com but most noticeably and most influential of them all is BiGxGh.Com,[. An online interactive content dedicated to providing the world with the best of African music from the musicians themselves on a daily basis.
External links
- Ghana Music News Ghana Music News and a collection of video clips, audio and profiles on Ghana artists
- Ghana Base Music Powering the Ghanaian Music Online.
- Live from Bamako, Mali Djembe drumming from West Africa and other