Singing Wells Stories Page
…ey from their original home in Israel, following the path of the Nile into Sudan, down to Munt Elgon and then to their present home. This group, as with so many others throughout Africa, tell the story of their forefathers through music and dance – the dancers imitating the Nile as it snakes through Africa. To find out more about the day of recording the Marakwet, view the field report. To listen to the music of the Kalenjin, check out the Kalenji…
The History Of Benga Music: A Report by Ketebul Music Story
…t it soon paved way for what the locals called a ‘box guitar’, which truly appealed to the Luo ear. Interestingly the accordion had a far greater appeal and impact amongst the Kikuyu people of central Kenya. In the late 1940s individual guitar players began plucking away at the chords as they would the nyatiti, all the while singing in the language of the lake shore people. Traditional Luo dance forms and songs were fused to produce new and distin…
Tracey Instrument Collection News
…e composite because they are made up from two different calabashes – one wrapped in skin and the other wrapped in goat skin and string. The Tracey Instrument Collection holds two horns, which are part of the Omukama of Bunyoro‘s horn ensemble of at least six horns, that were collected in the 1950s by Hugh Tracey. The Omukama of Bunyoro is the titular head of the Banyoro people. Ennanga eight string harp This harp is unusual in the sense that the n…
The Tribal and Musical Structure of East Africa – Worldmap Research News
…n 2011. They were keen on this new technique and trained me to use it for mapping health data in Ghana (example shown below). This was in collaboration with Harvard University. Following on that I spent some time working with the GIS department at Harvard in Boston specifically learning how to use the mapping software, and I also attended GIS classes given at Harvard. I then brought the idea to Singing Wells when I began work in the summer of 2012…
Background on the Music of Northern Uganda News
…art of the Luo people of Uganda, and they migrated to Uganda from Southern Sudan with other Luo peoples along the Nile banks. 2. Next we stay in Murchison Lodge in Pakwach and meet up with ‘The Aynu Traditional Music’ group, (a Lugbara group) ‘Wenipac and ‘Ndara Troupe‘ who will spend a day with us at the Lodge. These groups represent all of the Alur, Lugbara, Acholi, Kakwa, Madi and Kebu tribes! This seems to demonstrate how traditional music has…
Alur Tribe Profile – Music of Northern Uganda News
…ak Lendu. Origins: Their tradition states that they migrated from southern Sudan with other Luo following the Nile banks. Their original homeland is said to have been Rumbek on the confluence of the Nile and the Bahr-el- Ghazel rivers. The Alur legend of origin says that there once lived a great King called Atira. He is said to have been a direct descendant of God and when he died, his son Otira succeeded him. Otira is said to have in turn been su…
Day 5: Recording the Marakwet Story
…ribe originated from. They came from Israel to Egypt along the Nile to the Sudan. This occurred in the 18th century. The women have white dots on their arms and faces representing the soil and harvest. The white paint comes from a special kind of soil and only one person in the tribe keeps this soil as the custodian. Their aprons are made out of goat or cow hide and signify prayers and blessings to the rain the river they came from. The aprons are…
Acholi Tribe Profile – Music of Northern Uganda News
…Uganda. History: They came to northern Uganda from Bahr el Ghazal in South Sudan. In the late seventeenth century, they developed a socio-hierarchical system, in which communities, or chiefdoms, were run by Rwodi (rulers). They were traditionally hunting communities, whose economies revolved around hunting and breeding livestock. In the British colonial period, the Acoli comprised the majority of manual laborers and military. This damaged the econ…