Ethnographic Description

Fedinka:  Folkloric and Popular Music and Dance from Ethiopia. 

The Fedinka is a troupe of azmari musicians and dancers, that draw influences from the well of Ethiopia’s bardic tradition.  There were six players, two dancers, a singer, and three instruments, the kebero drums, a masenko (a one stringed bowed fiddle), and a krar (a six stringed lyre) and all wore traditional Ethiopian garb.  The setting was a theatre stage and most of the audience was older people, professors and grad students.  They opened the show with the krar player telling a story about a king who traveled great distance to find a new story, while playing the krar, and after, he started singing.  This style of music, reminded me of griot singing, spoken word, instrument playing and then singing.  The player got the audience to participate by singing the harmony.  He would hum a harmony and get the audience to repeat it, and after, while he sang the melody, the audience would hum the harmony. 

The rest of the songs had all the players participating in it.  The music had multiple rhythms playing.  The kebero drums would have one rhythm, the masenko and the singer would have different ones as well and the krar player would clap, which acted as the beat.  In another song, a dancer wore thick jewelry, and when she danced it shook against her body and acted as another rhythm.  They had the audience participate by clapping.  Even though they tried to get the audience to clap, it was hard because there were so many things going on, but toward the end the entire audience got into the feel and really started clapping. 

The azmari repertoires include songs about love, historical events, current affairs, and improvised wordplay.  Their dances illustrate traditional folktales or mirror the movements of animals.  For many of the songs the two dancers danced like chickens.  During one song, one dancer would spread imaginary feed over the ground and the other dancer would kneel down and bob her head as if eating.  Many of the songs they played were playful and fun.  In one song the female danced wildly and shook her body with her hair going high into the air like she was having a seizure; doing this for two minutes straight. 

Unlike some other cultural performances I had seen, these performers didn’t explain the context of each song and they didn’t really give any background on their troupe or Ethiopian bardic tradition.  They were more focused on playing as much music as possible in the short amount of time.  It made it harder to understand the context of the song, but I don’t think that it took away the meaningfulness or playful tone of music. 

In the end they played two songs with four students of Boston University.  The students played with modern instruments such as the accordion, the violin, the sousaphone, and a saxophone.  These students played the same melody as one of the other traditional Ethiopian instruments and made little embellishments or ornaments that separated them from that melody.  Overall, it was a great experience and I recommend it to anyone interested in traditional Ethiopian music.  

Bibliography

The Techniques of Ewe Drumming and the Social Importance of Music in Africa by S.D. Cudjoe

This book outlines the various rhythms of Ewe music and drumming, including the uses of this type of drumming in religious, ritualistic, festive, and social circumstances.  It also talks about the background and history of such music.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/271469

African Rhythm:  A Northern Ewe Perspective by Kofi Agawu

This section of the book talks about the different rhythms and cross rhythms used by the Ewe people.  It talks about rhythm with language, drumming, and dance.

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-aFOAAAAIAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR12&dq=Ewe+drumming&ots=8tzBsDSnFY&sig=9dab43OrvE2vZLG5LXojOQapEs8#v=onepage&q=Ewe%20drumming&f=false

Ghana:  Rhytms of the people:  Traditional Music and dance of the Ewe, Dagbama, Fante,  and Ga People (sound recording)

Form and Meaning of Ewe Song:  A critical review by Nissio Figabedzi.

A rigorous analysis of four Ewe songs.

Rhythmic Design in the Support drums of Agbadza by Jeff Pressing

This book goes into specific detailing of instruments and techniques of the drumming of Agbadza.

Translating the Devil:  Religion and Modernity among the Ewe in Ghana by Birgit Meyer

This book goes into the spread of Christianity among the Ewe and how it affected their lives, traditions, and music.

Skinner Critical Review

            In Skinner’s dissertation, he describes the emergence of an urban popular culture during the post-colonial era, the mobilization of this popular culture in political campaigns, and the institutionalization of these artists into state sponsored musical groups.  He describes each of these points in conjunction with a type of “ethic” that stems from the Malian word “mogoya,” which is a person’s ethic or code.  Urban popular culture grew out of the post-colonial era in response to the stagnant traditions and expectations.  It created what Skinner refers to as an “ethics of urban modernity.”  This ethic wasn’t about disdain for tradition, but instead a move toward progression that empowered movements such as the Kayiraton, which advocated individual rights and more liberal ideas.  During this time, Soudan was in battle between two political groups, the conservative PSP, who favored French involvement in the country and the US-RDA, who championed decolonization.  Both parties saw the value in this popular culture and the griots that sang for them and actively sought out members to sponsor and have perform in their names.  This led to musical groups having an active role in the government and assuming a diplomatic stance in the future of their country, which created the “aesthetics of decolonization.”  Eventually with the victory of the US-RDA and the independence of Soudan, the US-RDA vilified the griots and other musical groups that carried their party to the top.  To combat the growing unrest among this culture, the US-RDA created state sponsored organization such as orchestras that played more traditional pieces with themes approved by the US-RDA.  These artists received no salaries, no pensions, and told their work was an expression of nation building.  This created an ethics of state craft, an “ethic of postcolonial modernity.”  Eventually, the members of such orchestras demanded that they be compensated and that their work be professionalized and paid for.

            In this section of Skinner’s work, he describes the change of ethics among griots and other musical groups and how they evolved through time and through changing circumstances.  He starts with the urban popular culture during the 1940s, where music was played for a sense of “ambiance.”  Music was played to escape the strict traditions of an older generation and experiment with life.  In the 1950 to 1960, the role of these musicians changed to become the voice of the government and the nation.  From the 1960s till the fall of the First Mali Republic, griots and other musicians were being exploited by the US-RDA, and disputed that they receive compensation for their work.  In this instance, the griots, whose music is regarded as a social responsibility to the nation, validated their work as a legitimate profession. 

So far, the role of the griot has changed dramatically in just the course of 20 so years.  How has their role changed past the First Malian Republic, to even now?