The Cultivation of Musical Life in Traditional African Societies

 Musical activities organized around the gods that are worshiped may also form the basis of associations.  These activities take various forms, and may be differentiated in intensity and duration according to the aims and purposes of worship, its public, or exclusive character. Some occasions involve no music at all, while some require music other than special music of the gods to be used. There are occasions when both the music of the gods and other types of music may be performed, and some that make exclusive use of the music of the gods. In some societies, the same sort of music is played for all gods worshiped in a specific style, except that the songs and their texts may be varied to suit the focus of worship; there are, however, societies in which each god central to a cult has his own distinctive music.

    All those who worship a particular god may form a loose association, and may be bound together simply by their common belief and dedication. Participation in the music may be defined for each worshiper by the roles that are assigned to the different groups within the community of worshipers. In some societies, the singing is done mainly by women, while in others it is done by men or by all those present, regardless of the sex. Where instruments are used, worshipers or by others recruited for the purpose.

    In addition to loose cult groups around a particular gods, organized religious associations are found in some areas. Many of these have a fairly elaborate structure, with conditions for membership, and, on occasion, external means of identification in the form of tattooing, incision, special hairdos, costumes, or special marks. Among the Sukuma of Tanzania, for example, there are a large number of such associations, each of which has its own distinctive characteristics. R. Hall gives vivid descriptions of the traits of associations in the Maswa district of the Sukuma land in Tanzania, where one finds the bagika, bagalu, basaji, dadono, banunguli, babyyangi, bayeye, banyaraja, bafumu, and baswezi religious societies. The distinctive tattooing of the bagika, according to Hall, are:     

                A double line of incisions from the right shoulder to left waist                                   (occasionally the opposite direction also), an arrow-shaped series of                         incisions on the left cheek or shoulder and a zigzag line of incisions up                     the backs of the arms and across the shoulder.

     The bagalu have a different set of markings, consisting of “a ring round the left eye, a double ring round the diaphragm and circles on the left breast and shoulder blades.” The banunguli have both incisions and a special hairdo. The hair is done up in tufts, and each person has “ a girdle of incisions with one line above and two below on the abdomen.”

   Each societies has its own distinctive musical type and dance, as well. Some sing and dance wearing ankle bells, others sing, drum, and dance. Although music and dance are very important activities for these societies, the basis of their association is religious or fraternal in character. They may also have practical utilitarian aims for example, the societies that practice medicine or specialize in knowledge about snakes and their poisons and antidotes, or mutual-help societies that provide collective labor for agriculture.

   It will be evident from this review of the social organization of the music that every member of a community could be involved in one or more of the musical events that take place in community life, for music making is related to the needs of traditional institutions and the social groups that organize their lives around them. There is music for the young, for men, for women, and for crafts guilds and associations. Opportunities arise for free musical activities, for creating music outside ceremonial occasions, and for making enjoyment a basis of association.

    The cultivation of musical life in traditional African societies, therefore, is promoted through the creation of special musical institutions. This is what forms music making in Africa into a community experience, for the continuity experience, for the community of musical traditions depends to some extent on both individual and collective effort. It is the creative individual who builds up the repertoire or re-creates it, but those who learn it and perform it on social occasions sustain the tradition and make it a part of the common heritage.