Ordinary African musicology: An Africa-sensed music epistemology
| Main Authors: | Mapaya MG, Mugovhani NG |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book publication-section |
| Bahasa: | eng |
| Terbitan: |
Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society
, 2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://zenodo.org/record/4504676 |
Daftar Isi:
- From the practitioner’s perspective, the study of African music seems misaligned with the enterprise of indigenous African music. Consequently, attendant fabrications (usually packaged as theories and/or philosophies on the phenomenon by scholars) are self- serving, and at worst, moot. Furthermore, against the backdrop of African development, these theories seem to be barely relevant as far as the advancement of scholarship in African music is concerned. This chapter is based on a study that examined peculiarities of the indigenous African music phenomenon, especially its constructs, abstractions and philosophies. To be precise, the study aimed to highlight the inadequacies of canonised (ethno- )musicological methodologies. To achieve this, participative observation, including interviews, was used to gather data about indigenous African music. Particular attention was given to the ideations and vocalisations of indigenous practitioners. Preliminary results show the existence of African ways of conceiving, comprehending and communicating knowledge about indigenous African music. For this reason, it becomes prudent to propose an Africa-sensed musicology capable of harnessing the best of both worlds; scholarship on the one hand and African folkloric epistemologies on the other.