Pygmy music
Encyclopedia
The Pygmies
are a broad group of people who live in Central Africa
, especially in the Congo
, the Central African Republic
and Cameroon
. Music is an important part of Pygmy life, and casual performances take place during many of the day's events. Music comes in many forms, including the spiritual likanos stories, vocable
singing and music played from a variety of instruments.
Some of the Pygmies, specifically the Mbenga (Aka/Benzele and Baka) in the west and the Mbuti
(Efé) in the east, are particularly known for their dense contrapuntal
communal improvisation
. Simha Arom
(2003) says that the level of polyphonic complexity of Mbenga–Mbuti music was reached in Europe in the 14th century.
with variations
," or similar to a passacaglia
, in that it is cyclical. In fact it is based on repetition of periods of equal length, which each singer divides using different rhythmic figures specific to different repertoires and songs. This interesting case of Ethnomusicology
and Ethnomathematics
creates a detailed surface and endless variations of not only the same period repeated, but the same piece of music. As in some Bali
nese gamelan
music, these patterns are based on a super-pattern which is never heard. The Pygmies themselves do not learn or think of their music in this theoretical framework, but learn the music growing up.
Pygmy styles include liquindi
, or water drumming, and instruments like the bow harp (ieta), ngombi (harp zither) and limbindi (a string bow).
, wrote a book about the Efé Pygmies, The Forest People
, in 1965. This introduced Mbuti culture to Western countries, many of whose inhabitants were intrigued by the seemingly simple lifestyle they led. Turnbull claimed that the Mbuti viewed the forest as a parental spirit that could be communicated with via song.
Some of Turnbull's recordings of Efé music were commercially released, and inspired more ethnomusicological
study, such as by Simha Arom
, a French-Israeli who recorded a kind of whistle called hindewhu, and by Luis Devin, an Italian ethnomusicologist who studied in depth the musical rituals and instruments of Baka Pygmies, also by taking part in their secret rite of initiation. Some tracks were then used by Bill Summers, Herbie Hancock
's percussionist, in the song "Watermelon Man" (see hocket
).
In 1992, the popularization of Pygmy music spread with the release of Eric Mouquet
and Michel Sanchez
's Deep Forest
. Though the fusion of New Age
spirituality with sampled Pygmy music and soft techno was heavily criticized by music purists, the album was a multi-million selling success. Soon after its release, controversy continued amid accusations that none of the money made from recording was given to the Pygmy performers. Despite the controversy, a percentage of the proceeds from each album were donated to the Pygmy Fund set up to aid Zaire
's Pygmies.
Also in 1992 Martin Cradick and Su Hart
were staying and recording Baka in Cameroon. The result of this voyage was the creation of the band Baka Beyond
and the release of their collaboration with the Baka musicians, "Spirit of the Forest" alongside the album "Heart of the Forest", a collection of traditional songs and music. Proceeds from both these albums have returned to the Baka musicians through the charity Global Music Exchange which continues to work with the Baka helping them in their rapidly changing environment.
, Great Lakes Twa
and Southern Twa have very different musical styles.
Researchers who studied Pygmy music:
Pygmy
Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
are a broad group of people who live in Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
, especially in the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
and Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
. Music is an important part of Pygmy life, and casual performances take place during many of the day's events. Music comes in many forms, including the spiritual likanos stories, vocable
Vocable
In speech, a vocable is an utterance, term, or word that is capable of being spoken and recognized. A non-lexical vocable is used without semantic role or meaning, while structure of vocables is often considered apart from any meaning...
singing and music played from a variety of instruments.
Some of the Pygmies, specifically the Mbenga (Aka/Benzele and Baka) in the west and the Mbuti
Mbuti
Mbuti or Bambuti are one of several indigenous pygmy groups in the Congo region of Africa. Their languages belong to the Central Sudanic and also to Bantu languages.-Overview:...
(Efé) in the east, are particularly known for their dense contrapuntal
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
communal improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
. Simha Arom
Simha Arom
Simha Arom is a French-Israeli ethnomusicologist who is recognized as an expert on the music of central Africa, especially that of Central African Republic. His books include African Polyphony and Polyrhythm: Musical Structure and Methodology ISBN 0-521-24160-X. He also made some historical field...
(2003) says that the level of polyphonic complexity of Mbenga–Mbuti music was reached in Europe in the 14th century.
Formal Classification
Formally, Mbenga–Mbuti Pygmy music consists of at most only four parts, and can be described as an, "ostinatoOstinato
In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
with variations
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
," or similar to a passacaglia
Passacaglia
The passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre....
, in that it is cyclical. In fact it is based on repetition of periods of equal length, which each singer divides using different rhythmic figures specific to different repertoires and songs. This interesting case of Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
and Ethnomathematics
Ethnomathematics
In mathematics education, ethnomathematics is the study of the relationship between mathematics and culture . Often associated with "cultures without written expression" , it may also be defined as "'the mathematics which is practised among identifiable cultural groups'" In mathematics education,...
creates a detailed surface and endless variations of not only the same period repeated, but the same piece of music. As in some Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
nese gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
music, these patterns are based on a super-pattern which is never heard. The Pygmies themselves do not learn or think of their music in this theoretical framework, but learn the music growing up.
Pygmy styles include liquindi
Liquindi
Liquindi is water drumming, typically practiced by Pygmy women and girls.Typically the sound is produced by persons standing in water, and hitting the surface of the water with their hands, such as to trap air in the hands and produce a percussive effect that arises by sudden change in air pressure...
, or water drumming, and instruments like the bow harp (ieta), ngombi (harp zither) and limbindi (a string bow).
Western Popularization
Colin M. Turnbull, an American anthropologistAnthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, wrote a book about the Efé Pygmies, The Forest People
The Forest People
The Forest People is Colin Turnbull's ethnographic study of the Mbuti pygmies of the then-Belgian Congo ....
, in 1965. This introduced Mbuti culture to Western countries, many of whose inhabitants were intrigued by the seemingly simple lifestyle they led. Turnbull claimed that the Mbuti viewed the forest as a parental spirit that could be communicated with via song.
Some of Turnbull's recordings of Efé music were commercially released, and inspired more ethnomusicological
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
study, such as by Simha Arom
Simha Arom
Simha Arom is a French-Israeli ethnomusicologist who is recognized as an expert on the music of central Africa, especially that of Central African Republic. His books include African Polyphony and Polyrhythm: Musical Structure and Methodology ISBN 0-521-24160-X. He also made some historical field...
, a French-Israeli who recorded a kind of whistle called hindewhu, and by Luis Devin, an Italian ethnomusicologist who studied in depth the musical rituals and instruments of Baka Pygmies, also by taking part in their secret rite of initiation. Some tracks were then used by Bill Summers, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
's percussionist, in the song "Watermelon Man" (see hocket
Hocket
In music, hocket is the rhythmic linear technique using the alternation of notes, pitches, or chords. In medieval practice of hocket, a single melody is shared between two voices such that alternately one voice sounds while the other rests.In European music, hocket was used primarily in vocal...
).
In 1992, the popularization of Pygmy music spread with the release of Eric Mouquet
Eric Mouquet
Eric Mouquet , is the co-founder of the band Deep Forest. He won a Grammy Award in 1995, and a World Award for best world music album....
and Michel Sanchez
Michel Sanchez
Michel Sanchez . He spent much of this youth studying music . Sanchez is the co-founder of the band Deep Forest. He won a Grammy Award in 1995, and a World Award for best world music album....
's Deep Forest
Deep Forest
Deep Forest is a musical group consisting of two French musicians, Michel Sanchez and Eric Mouquet. They compose a style of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and dance beats or chillout beats...
. Though the fusion of New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
spirituality with sampled Pygmy music and soft techno was heavily criticized by music purists, the album was a multi-million selling success. Soon after its release, controversy continued amid accusations that none of the money made from recording was given to the Pygmy performers. Despite the controversy, a percentage of the proceeds from each album were donated to the Pygmy Fund set up to aid Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
's Pygmies.
Also in 1992 Martin Cradick and Su Hart
Su Hart
Su Hart is a musician, living in Bath, UK, and part of the band Baka Beyond. She frequently travels to other countries to pick up musical influences.She organises events based to do with music, all over the world.-External links:**...
were staying and recording Baka in Cameroon. The result of this voyage was the creation of the band Baka Beyond
Baka Beyond
Baka Beyond is a world music group formed in 1992 with members from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures, fusing Celtic and other western music styles with traditional Baka music from Cameroon.-Biography:...
and the release of their collaboration with the Baka musicians, "Spirit of the Forest" alongside the album "Heart of the Forest", a collection of traditional songs and music. Proceeds from both these albums have returned to the Baka musicians through the charity Global Music Exchange which continues to work with the Baka helping them in their rapidly changing environment.
Other Pygmies
Polyphonic music is only characteristic of the Mbenga and Mbuti. The Gyele/KolaGyele people
The Gyele , also known as the Kola or Koya , are the pygmies of southern Cameroon and adjacent areas of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. They live among Bantu patrons, the Mvumbo and Bassa...
, Great Lakes Twa
Great Lakes Twa
The Great Lakes Twa, also known as Abatwa or Ge-Sera, or in English Batwa, are a pygmy people who are generally assumed to be the oldest surviving population of the Great Lakes region of central Africa, though currently they live as a Bantu caste...
and Southern Twa have very different musical styles.
Discography
- Aka Pygmy Music. Recorded by Simha AromSimha AromSimha Arom is a French-Israeli ethnomusicologist who is recognized as an expert on the music of central Africa, especially that of Central African Republic. His books include African Polyphony and Polyrhythm: Musical Structure and Methodology ISBN 0-521-24160-X. He also made some historical field...
. Philips 6586 016. Part of the UNESCO CollectionUNESCO CollectionUNESCO Collection is a world music record label, under the aegis of UNESCO.The full title of the series was UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music of the World....
(Musical SourcesMusical SourcesMusical Sources is a series of recordings of traditional music that was made for the International Music Council by the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies and Documentation and released on the Philips label. Most of these recordings were later reissued on the Auvidis label. ...
I-2); reissued as Auvidis D 8054. - Ba-Benzélé Pygmies. Bärenreiter BM 30 L 2303. Part of the UNESCO CollectionUNESCO CollectionUNESCO Collection is a world music record label, under the aegis of UNESCO.The full title of the series was UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music of the World....
(third in the Anthology of African Music); reissued as Rounder CD 5107. - Cameroon: Baka Pygmy Music (1977). EMI/Odeon 3C 064-18265. Part of the UNESCO CollectionUNESCO CollectionUNESCO Collection is a world music record label, under the aegis of UNESCO.The full title of the series was UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music of the World....
(Musical AtlasMusical AtlasMusical Atlas is a series of recordings of traditional music that was made for the International Music Council by the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies and Documentation and released on the EMI/Odeon label. The series was directed by Alain Daniélou. It was part of the larger...
, #18); reisssued as Auvidis D 8029 (1990). - African Rhythms (2003). Music by AkaAka (Pygmy tribe)The Aka or Bayaka are a nomadic Mbenga pygmy people who live by hunting. Although the Aka people call themselves BiAka, they are also known as Babenzele in Western Central African Republic and Northwest Congo ....
Pygmies, performed by Aka Pygmies, György LigetiGyörgy LigetiGyörgy Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
and Steve ReichSteve ReichStephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, performed by Pierre-Laurent AimardPierre-Laurent AimardPierre-Laurent Aimard is a French pianist. He was born in Lyon, where he entered the conservatory. Later he studied with Yvonne Loriod and with Maria Curcio....
. Teldec Classics: 8573 86584-2. Liner notes by Aimard, Ligeti, Reich, and Simha Arom and Stefan Schomann. - Music of the Rainforest Pygmies. Historic recordings made by Colin M. Turnbull. Lyrichord: LYRCD 7157.
- Echoes of the Forest: Music of the Central African Pygmies. Recordings by Colin M. Turnbull, Jean-Pierre HalletJean-Pierre HalletJean-Pierre Hallet was a Belgian ethnologist, naturalist, and humanitarian best known for his extensive work with the Efé pygmies of the Ituri Rainforest...
and Louis SarnoLouis SarnoLouis Sarno is an American author. In the mid-1980s he lived among a Bayaka Pygmy clan in the Central African Republic, and recorded their music. His experiences were published as Song From The Forest, which was included among the "99 books that capture the spirit of Africa" by Geoff Wisner.Louis...
. Ellipsis Arts: Musical Expeditions CD 4020 - Heart of the Forest: Music of the Baka Forest People of South-East Cameroon. Recordings by Martin Cradick and Jeremy Avis. Hannibal Records: HNCD1378.
- Baka in the Forest: traditional songs of the Baka women recorded live in the Cameroon rainforest.. Recordings by Su HartSu HartSu Hart is a musician, living in Bath, UK, and part of the band Baka Beyond. She frequently travels to other countries to pick up musical influences.She organises events based to do with music, all over the world.-External links:**...
. March Hare: MAHA CD29.
See also
Pygmy groups- Baka
- Aka
- Twa peoples
- Efé
Researchers who studied Pygmy music:
- Simha AromSimha AromSimha Arom is a French-Israeli ethnomusicologist who is recognized as an expert on the music of central Africa, especially that of Central African Republic. His books include African Polyphony and Polyrhythm: Musical Structure and Methodology ISBN 0-521-24160-X. He also made some historical field...
- Luis Devin
- Louis SarnoLouis SarnoLouis Sarno is an American author. In the mid-1980s he lived among a Bayaka Pygmy clan in the Central African Republic, and recorded their music. His experiences were published as Song From The Forest, which was included among the "99 books that capture the spirit of Africa" by Geoff Wisner.Louis...
- Colin TurnbullColin TurnbullColin Macmillan Turnbull was a British-American anthropologist who came to public attention with the popular books The Forest People and The Mountain People , and one of the first anthropologists to work in the field of ethnomusicology.-Early life:Turnbull was born in London and...
- Jean-Pierre HalletJean-Pierre HalletJean-Pierre Hallet was a Belgian ethnologist, naturalist, and humanitarian best known for his extensive work with the Efé pygmies of the Ituri Rainforest...
Further reading
- Abram, Dave. "Sounds From the African Rainforest". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 601–607. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
External links
- African Pygmies Pygmy music and culture, with audio recordings and soundscapes
- Philadelphia CityPaper.net: 20 questions Louis SarnoLouis SarnoLouis Sarno is an American author. In the mid-1980s he lived among a Bayaka Pygmy clan in the Central African Republic, and recorded their music. His experiences were published as Song From The Forest, which was included among the "99 books that capture the spirit of Africa" by Geoff Wisner.Louis...
an interview by Deni Kasrel, June 13–20, 1996 regarding BaBenzl Pygmies - Deep Forest music site - with music samples
- Baka Forest People - many music samples, photos and videos of Baka music
- Baka Beyond site - with links to access Baka recordings