Lugbara Tribe Profile – Music of Northern Uganda News
…y were originally known as the Madi, their current name perhaps came to be used after the intrusion of the Khartoum Arab slaves in the second half of the 19th century. Their origins are described in relation to their belief in mythology: with God’s creation of Meme and the universe. The first two human beings Gboro-Gboro (male) and Meme (female) are said to have been superhuman. Some traditions only speak of Meme, whose womb God filled with the li…
Day 1: In Nairobi, packing and talking to Tabu Story
…to bring them to Nairobi to our studio they are much more comfortable because they already know us. We did this last year with the Batwa – bringing them from Kisoro, through Kampala to Nairboi by bus to spend the weekend recording. They created amazing music and had the time of their lives.” Tabu puts a lot of effort into finding the true traditional music. He feels politics and tourism have affected the music we usually hear from the tribes. He…
Victoria’s reflections on the music of the Batwa Story
…e Batwa think it is good that people come to see the mountain gorillas because they pay money to do this and the government can use the money to develop Uganda. They hope that one day the Batwa will benefit from this money. Another is in praise of the President, asking him to work with the Batwa to develop their country. Others are in praise of God thanking Him for having given the forest to the Batwa. (Christianity has been largely adopted since…
How To (Arc)Map News
…and replicate it. To that end, Singing Wells will be blogging about how to use ArcMap 10 and what exactly we’re doing with it, so anyone with access to it can understand and follow along (and that includes members of the Singing Wells team itself). Watch this space for future posts, and if you’re interested in ArcMap, you can find out more here. You can also check out their non-profit organisations’ scheme, which allows registered charities access…
Day 6: The Studio @ Traveller’s Rest Hotel, Kisoro Story
…sion with Winyo. Here, they put down their track. Not at all phased by the use of headphones and mics, they take everything in there stride, performing a number of takes as the song develops. We start by giving them a simple click to follow the beat but quickly realised that their tempos are far more subtle than this. Francis comes back to set the rhythm with their natural clapping and it suddenly all came together again. Once we have the female v…
Day 5 (PM): The ‘Togetherness Group’ from Kanyabukunga Story
…he essential sun shield for the mixing desk. They also found an additional use for the Pelicases, and Winyo’s guitar case, as mixing table and chairs! This little girl sensibly brought an umbrella for a sunshade……and happily accepted some much needed water: And here’s a very special young lady from this community – Fiona Nyiraguhirwa. Fiona has been sponsored by UOBDU through Junior School. Everyone is hoping she will be able to continue her educa…
The Batwa Trail News
…on about the living, the medicinal plants, hunting methods… that the Batwa use(d). When I think about the darkness in the Garama Cave and then the sudden singing and dancing, I am still deeply touched. After that in front of a beautiful panorama the singing and dancing continued. I am very happy to have experienced this on my travel and recommend it for all Kisoro visitors. I would be honoured If you use my video on your website. Warmest regards,…
Day 4 (later): Recording for ‘Influences’ with the Birara Dancers Story
…ood, because it rained a lot. https://youtu.be/c1XBVlNQL6E We continued to use this ‘hotel studio’ to record our ‘Influences’ sessions. A word on what we mean. We have multiple goals at Singing Wells. The first is to preserve the vast musical heritage of East Africa, capturing the diversity of music and dance throughout the region. Most of the music is ‘trapped’ in remote villages – everyday in 100’s of villages across East Africa wonderful perfor…
Day 1 & 2: Preparing to leave for Kisoro, Uganda Story
…r, Singing Wells A note about the Singing Wells recording equipment: Because the ultimate goal of the Singing Wells Project is to helpother groups set up to expand the recording of tribal music in East Africa, we also use these blogs to also document our ‘way of working.’ The Gear: Let’s summarise what a the Singing Wells Kit is for a location shoot. We bring 7 bags to a site (the picture shows most of it); these are: SW1 and SW2: These are iden…
Kenya (Coast): Day 4 – the road back to Nairobi Story
…io to capture individual sounds. On the video side, we need a main crew focused on the performance and a secondary crew focused on Selling Wells, archiving the stories of the music and the artists. TO: The pilot was a success and proved we were right – take the studio to the talent not the other way around. This trip also confirmed that this mission is critical. As Steve said, the music was beautiful and the artists fantastic. But they were also o…
Interview with Fifty Cows – fixer for Singing Wells News
…t boarder where singers and dancers from both tribes come together and perform. He feels this would bring a sense of unity and peace. He is a remarkable man and has used his past to shape his future and use it for good. Posted by Kathy Allen 9th March 2012 …
Nick Abonyo (the ‘clapper-man’) News
…ired every two weeks and replace every two months. They lit fires in the house to cook. When he went to primary school Nick had to live with his grandmother in Abasuba because there was a school there. He started going to school when he was eight. He would go home to his parents in August and December for a month. He preferred being in his parent’s village. He liked village life because everything is free there. They grew their own food including…
The Kalenjin & Kenya’s elite athletes News
…today as a first time observer. She was surprised these groups existed because she had never heard of them, even though she lives in the area. She was particularly impressed by Ben Kisinja who had a unique and animated way of performing. He played the pokondit, the guitar-like instrument, very well. She felt the older men were more soulful and she liked to hear their stories. She was also surprised how far some of the musicians had come to perform…
May 2011 – Jimmy reports back on the pilot phase News
…s Zaire ndindingwa, led by Fundi bin Kalale, in the ndindingwa style. They used the filimbi (a type of whistle). Group 2: Zaire ndindingwa Kibarani: We recorded behind one of the long houses under two great trees, which sheltered us from the sun. Click here to read our fuller blog of this visit. Interviewing group leaders in the village of Kibarani The third group was Chechemeko raha, led by Bahri wa katana in the checchemeko style. They danced li…
Lake Turkana Cultural Festival 2011 News
…National Museums of Kenya, is to ‘overcome tribalism in the region and to promote peace and reconciliation among the local communities around Lake Turkana by giving them an opportunity for cross-cultural cooperation and exchange, both in the preparation and in the course of the Festival. During the three days Festival, representatives of the Rendille, El Molo, Pokot, Samburu, Turkana, Gabbra, Dassanech and Borana present their respective customs…
Reflections on the pilot phase by Pato News
…a close eye on her and he asked me to stop drooling all over the place because she belonged to him and only him. The second car was delivered and Maddo, chairman for Ketebul Music would be the pilot for the V.I.P car. He had to leave because he had to drop the owner of the car and left me with his car, but not without detailed instructions on how to handle it and with a stern warning: don’t visit your girls friends with my car! We met them later…