Drum
Culture: Chokwe
Country: Zaire
Wood
Music is integralpart of African life. Song and dance commemorate life events, recount history, and impart political information. The musical experience is a unifying one: songs for work, drinking, and love not only entertaib, but bond the participant and ensure that things are done according to form. African music is an ever-renewing tadition. While their subjects may come rom the distant past, most songs are fairly new, and improvisation is common.
In addition to singing, clapping, and the songs of dancing, the music
of Africa employs an enormous variety of instruments. The mbira alone, a
uniquely African finger piano, appears in hundreds of configurations. Drums,
which establish the polyrhythmic complexity of the music, occur in differnt
shapes and sizes to produce a range of "voices". Musicians play
alone or in ensemble, generally accompanied by the audience in handclapping
or call and response. Nearly every song has words: if unsung, they are understood.
Christian Clergyman Figure by: Fakaya