Bellwork: Define Terms Boli/Chac-chac large, seed-filled
rattle. Chantwell--lead singer, usually female. Cuttera snare drum.
Dahomeythe culture-kingdom of West Africa, centered in the city of
Ardra. Historical ethnomusicology -an approach that uses musical
materials to discover history.
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Boli
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Cutter Drum
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Announcements Reading #5 is due on Tuesday, September 17
th.
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Guided Notes The Big Drum Dance Big Drum Dancea
ritual/celebration where descendants of different nations of Africa
meet and dance after the nature of their own country. The ancient
big drum dance of Carriacou, Grenada, is crucial to the current
generations memory of national origin and kinship. Created by
enslaved people, the Nation Dance celebrates family reorganization
and changes in social status.
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Where is Carriacou? Carriacou is the largest island in the
Grenadine chain, in Grenada. Unilateral descentuncorrupted
blood-line, isolated environment nurtured the preservation of old
customs. The population of Carriacou is made up of Afro- caribbean
peoples--the unwilling immigrant to the Americasthe enslaved
African. The africans sense of estrangement in the new world
influenced their concept of nation.
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Find Carriacou!
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CFU--Customs Individually or in pairs, think about your familys
traditions. List three traditionsit could be something as simple as
dinner at McDonalds on Sundays. Try to list some older tradition,
too. If you can, think of possible origins of the traditions. If
you dont know the origin, make up one! If youd like to, draw
branches of a tree to illustrate your facts.
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Listening Example #1 Anansi-o-e, Cromanti Active Listening Can
you hear the cutter drum?it sticks out above the rest. What is the
name of the shaken instrument in the background of this piece? What
is the name of the lead singer who starts the songs?
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Just the Faux, Listening Example #1 Anansi-o-e, Cromanti The
form of this song is call and response. AnansiThe akan spider hero,
is also a venerated ancestor figure. Salito pray, in Arabic. Babaa
carib name for father of everyone, it has related meanings in the
Yoruba and Hausa languages. Hausait is a ligua franca, a language
that has been adopted by speakers of other languages, of western
Africa, including Nigeria. This dance was performed for a funeral
rite.
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Anansi-the Spider Hero
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Anansi
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Text Translation Text: Anansi-o-e Ancestor Anansi-o, Sari Baba
Ancestor pray to our father
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Musical Notation
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Guided Notes Music as History By studying music, we study
history. Music and the ritual complexes of which it may be a part,
are primary cultural documents within which cultural evidence is
encoded. These arent artifacts, but instead living journals of
song, ritual and dance that communicate the ethos of an earlier
time.
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CFUWhite Boards
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Building the Big Drum Dance Tribes who contribute to the dance:
Manding, Cromanti, Igbo, Congo, Temne, Chamba, Banda, Arada, Moko.
Instances where the big drum dance is performed: 1. A wedding
reception 2. A funeral 3. The launching of a new boat 4. The
christening of a new house.
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Big Drum Basics Three groupings of Big Drum dances include: 1.
Nation dances 2. Creole dances 3. Frivolous dances The texts are
written in French-creole, patois, with a sprinkling of
African-sounding words.
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Active Listening #2 Ina-O, Cromanti Think for a second (seconds
over!) on the use of rhythm in Chinese music. How does the African
use of rhythm differ from that of China? What word that starts with
S and is used in this piece, as well as in the Steel drum pieces we
heard? How many percussion instruments do you hear?
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Listening example #2 Ina-O, Cromanti Inafemale ancestral
figure, the mother of all spirits, in Hausa, a connection to the
spirits. The drums use both open tones and bass tones to vary the
sound. Salamainimiddle of the night, to greet in Hausa. From a
sacred group of songs called the midnight Cromanti. The worshippers
reconvene the dance after the late-night saraka recess. Cromanti
songs have potent spiritual content.
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What do those words mean? Text: Ina-o, Ina-oInna-O, Inna-O
Ina-o, Mama nuInna-o, our mother Salamani-oGreet her in the middle
of the night
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CFU: Gallery Walk On a small post-it write down one fact from
the listening examples of today. When you have completed this,
place it in a larger category on the board: Song Lyrics Ritual
Facts Instrument Facts Do a gallery walk by row and write down two
additional facts from the category you chose.
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Exit Ticket Define the word: Dahomey: The population of
Carriacou is made-up primarily of: Write a concise definition of
the Big Drum Dance Who is Ina? Name the tribe whose songs we have
studied today: