African fiddle
Encyclopedia
The term African fiddle may be applied to any of several Africa
n bowed string instrument
s.
Gongey
"Fiddle tube"
broke new ground in ethnomusicology with her study of "fiddle" music of the Luo
of Kenya
. Citing Kwamwe Anthony Appish, she rejects "nativist nostalgia . . . largely fueled by that Western sentimentalism so familiar after Rousseau". This is consistent with trends which urge caution when introjecting cultural stereotypes. Following her earlier academic studies, she released Fiddling in West Africa Touching the Spirit in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba Cultures in 2008.
that has been critically acclaimed. They exhibit a sophisticated multiply layered tapestry of Zulu inspired sound on his 1989 release Art of Noise.
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n bowed string instrument
Bowed string instrument
Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound.-Violin family:...
s.
Instruments
Luo orutu- Luo orutu, or simply "orutuOrutuThe orutu is a one-stringed fiddle native to western Kenya, especially amongst the Luo community.The term also refers to a genre of music in Kenya which involves this instrument...
", is the one-stringed fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
of East AfricaEast AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. It is typically accompanied by Nyatiti lyre, Bul drums, the Nyangile sound box, Ongeng'o metal rings, Asili flute, and the Oporo horn.
Gongey
- Gonjey music is found amongst the DagombaDagombaThe Dagomba are an ethnic group of Northern Ghana. They inhabit the sparse savanna region below the sahelian belt, known as the Sudan. They speak the Dagbani language which belongs to the More-Dagbani sub-group of Gur languages...
people of Northern Ghana, which is in West Africa and is known to the West through modern proponents such as Kenge Kenge and the ethnomusicological archival activities of Nana Kimati Dinizulu, son of the late Nana Opare Dinizulu. According to published archival footage Talensi people who are located in the Upper Eastern Region of Ghana and in Burkina FasoBurkina FasoBurkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
. The gonje is constructed from "a gourd, lizard skin, stick and... a horsehair bow"
"Fiddle tube"
- The so-called "fiddle tube" of UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
is also referred to as "endingidiEndingidiThe endingidi is a type of bowed string instrument native to Uganda. The endingidi has one string, extending from the neck to a cylindrical body made of wood or horn.A similar instrument called the akaghoboghobo is found in Banande.-Sources:*...
".
Ethnomusicology
Self-described "culture bearer" Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje of the University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
broke new ground in ethnomusicology with her study of "fiddle" music of the Luo
Luo
Luo may refer to:*Luo , a group of related African ethnic groups.*Luo , a people of Kenya and Tanzania, part of the above named group...
of Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. Citing Kwamwe Anthony Appish, she rejects "nativist nostalgia . . . largely fueled by that Western sentimentalism so familiar after Rousseau". This is consistent with trends which urge caution when introjecting cultural stereotypes. Following her earlier academic studies, she released Fiddling in West Africa Touching the Spirit in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba Cultures in 2008.
Contemporary African fiddle music
Noise Khanyile & the Jo'burgm C is a Johannesburg, South Africa based ensemble produced by West NkosiWest Nkosi
West Nkosi was a South African music producer, saxophonist and songwriter.Nkosi was born in Nelspruit, South Africa. He was an original member of the Makgona Tsohle Band which backed Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens...
that has been critically acclaimed. They exhibit a sophisticated multiply layered tapestry of Zulu inspired sound on his 1989 release Art of Noise.
Moses Mchuno
Moses Mchuno's township jive track incorporates fiddle and traditional Soweto singing.Additional scholarly resources
- Makubuya, James. 2000. "Endingidi (Tube Fiddle) of Uganda: Its Adaptation and Significance among the Baganda." The Galpin Society Journal 53:140–155.
- Euba, Akin. 2001. “Issues in Africanist Musicology: Do We Need Ethnomusicology in Africa?” In Proceedings of the Forum for Revitalizing African Music Studies in Higher Education, edited by Frank Gunderson, pp. 137–139. Ann Arbor, Michigan: The U. S. Secretariat of the International Center for African Music and Dance, The International Institute, University of Michigan.
- Nketia, J. H. Kwabena. 2005. “Introduction: Thinking About Music in Ethnomusicological Terms.” In Ethnomusicology and African Music: Collected Papers. Volume One. Modes of Inquiry and Interpretation, compiled by J. H. Kwabena Nketia, pp. 1–20. Accra, Ghana: Afram Publications (Ghana) Ltd.
- Nketia, J.H. Kwabena, and Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje. 1984. “Introduction: Trends in African Musicology.” In Selected Reports in Ethnomusicology. Vol. 5. Studies in African Music, edited by J. H. Kwabena Nketia and Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje, pp. ix–xx. Los Angeles: UCLA Program in Ethnomusicology, Department of Music.
- Noll, William. 1997. “Selecting Partners: Questions of Personal Choice and Problems of History in Fieldwork and Its Interpretation.” In Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, edited by Gregory F. Barz and Timothy J. Cooley, pp. 163–188. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.