Music in traditional Africa was not only a way of life, but a method of communication, a depiction of different social events and ceremonies and a method of telling history. “Traditionally, there was no separate notion of art from spiritual celebration or social entertainment in Africa. Music has always been a mixture of sacred and secular ingredients,” states a UC Santa Cruz University paper. In many African cultures, there is a song for war and a song for peace, a song for the woman who grinds flour and one for the boy who herds cattle. There are mourning songs and wedding songs. More importantly, music was not just song. Dance and song was sometimes one and the same thing. According to A History of African Music, music plays a similar role in most (African) societies, as work songs, lullabies, battle songs, religious music, and so on. Unlike in the western world where music’s sole aim to entertain or to please to the ear African music was a part and parcel of the person, and the society. Individuals specialized in music, as a way of life, like those who entertained the kings, for example the intore. But every African man and woman was a singer and a dancer, never mind the talents. This kind of music did not place emphasis on the quality of the voice as the modern day music industry. Instead the values were in the message. As opposed to western culture were, singing was of paramount importance, in African cultures, the dancing and the drama that went together with the singing or chanting, with many kinds of instruments completed the musical experience which to the ordinary ear would sound like chaos, but instead demonstrates an ordered form of high musical organization. A Columbia College paper sums up traditional African music as historically ancient, rich, and diverse as the continent itself. Traditional African music is passed down orally (or aurally) and is not written, and it also relies heavily on percussion instruments of every variety, including xylophones, drums, and tone-producing instruments such as the mbira or “thumb piano.” Considering that the reason why Africa has heavily influenced world music is through used of or modification of originally African musical instruments, the uniqueness of traditional African music is perhaps part and parcel of this legacy. In his paper, Music Therapy in Traditional African Societies: Origin, Basis and Application in Nigeria, Charles O. Aluede explores the use of music in healing processes by herbalists on patients disturbed by spirits, by witchdoctors and in days of mourning. In fact, in many cultures at any funeral, professional criers/mourners are crucial in a proper funeral. To the bereaved family, it is important that their person is well mourned. In my own Samia Culture at the Kenya-Uganda Border, the crier praises the dead person in a cry song that could last for hours. She welcomes different relatives by sprinting to cry with them as soon as she hears a new cry approaching the bereaved home. The aesthetic value of the art in African traditional music is at the greatest danger because our lifestyles are fast moving away from the kind in which song was a necessary component. The constant bombardment of the western idea of music propagated and bred through the various idols shows in which three “experts” decide in a few minutes whether you are made of superstar material or not, which is at best, cannibalistic. We know that people like Michael Jackson who would never had a chance in such shows that follow past examples of success or look for spontaneity or stage presence are not based on any standard measures and are simply suited to provide many twists and turns for the audiences always hungry for newfangled stars. As we move away from Music which was life, the art of Music, say like the Intore, should be preserved from Music of mere entertainment. Today’s wannabe artistes (not artists) seek to emulate western types of music for the single purpose of appeasing huge crowds and selling records. This is not to mean that their kind of art is any lesser. Hip hop is a cultural evolution of its own, and is a product of the genius of our African American brothers which we gladly enjoy, but our art is equally important which for posterity’s sake should be able to stand the test of time, or evolve spontaneously, alongside the other forms of art. kelviod@yahoo.com
