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Practice: Musical and Cultural Production
Practice: Musical and Cultural Production
Hip Hop-originated in the 1970s in the Bronx, with four distinct elements: dj, rap, breakdancing, and graffiti.
Focuses on the mind-body connection
Spirituals-originated in slavery-religious songs were brought from Africa by speech, not writing
”During the Civil War the ‘Negro Spiritual’ emerged as a clearly recognizable cultural form; it was then grasped as a distinct, observable, and knowable element of black culture” (Cruz 1999)
Nothing was written until the Civil War
Both originate from Afro-diasporic traditions
Louis Armstrong - Go Down Moses
Louis Armstrong - Go Down Moses
Kool DJ Herc - Viva Freestyle
Kool DJ Herc - Viva Freestyle
Historical and Cultural basis for Practice
Historical and Cultural basis for Practice
Hip Hop affects multiple senses-graffiti (visual) breakdancing (touch/physical), rap/dj (hearing)
Spirituals mostly affects hearing, but different feelings emerge, due to the religious element of spirituals
Both types of music initiate the feeling of ‘home’ due to diasporic themes and elements
Music and Cultural Production in relation to Culture, Identity, Power and Freedom
Music and Cultural Production in relation to Culture, Identity, Power and Freedom
Hip-Hop
"Identity in hip hop is deeply rooted in the specific, the local experience, and one's attachment to and statues in a local group or alternative family.” (Rose 1994)
"Hip hop emerges from complex cultural exchanges and larger social and political conditions of disillusionment and alienation." (Rose 1994)
Spirituals
"Religious singing also enables slaves to express their despair over their statues a chattel.” (Cruz 1999)
"It is a well established fact that music was one of the primary means by which slaves cultivated collective knowledge and solidarity.” (Cruz 1999)
Cuba and Nigeria's Relationship
Cuba and Nigeria's Relationship
The movement of the Yoruba religious music between Nigeria and Cuba contributed to the African diaspora. The Yoruba is an ethnic group of people from southwest Nigeria. Music is highly important within the religion, with drums and drumming as the most significant. The different sounds the drums produce is seen as its own language. The Bata drums are believed to be the oldest Yoruba drum, which also communicates with the deities."The spiritual power of the instrument is often illustrated by narrations of how it was used by ancient Yoruba warriors. Bata drumming, it was believed, had the power to energize warriors in battle" (Omojola 2012). In present day, the Bata is only used for sacred and ritual events, and typically only men have the honour to play the Bata since it is believed the have the physical strength and spiritual power to play the drum. The bata drum was restricted to just men to play in Cuba since its religious significance in the Yoruba and different laws in Cuba.
"In Nigeria, unlike in Cuba, no strict prohibition against women playing the bàtá exists, and this newly acquired transatlantic knowledge has, in turn, potentiated enormous gendered break within the landscape of ritual music in Cuba" (Meadows 2021).
"In Nigeria, unlike in Cuba, no strict prohibition against women playing the bàtá exists, and this newly acquired transatlantic knowledge has, in turn, potentiated enormous gendered break within the landscape of ritual music in Cuba" (Meadows 2021).
Below is a video of Bata drumming, "Galí, Regla & Nagybe Santiago" "
1990s-allowed for more cultural exchange and visits by Nigerian priests, the internet,
Africant traditionalist babalowo (priest/scholar) Enrique Orozco Rubio-reversing gender norms, teaches Ifa academically
"In line with other African traditionalists, Orozco Rubio established ties with the Yorùbá traditional religion abroad through contact with Cuba’s diasporas in Venezuela and other locations in the Americas; the visits of Nigerian babaláwos to the island; and even through limited—and often illegal—internet access and communication" (Meadows 2021).
Anthropologist Stephen Palmie coined the term 'ethnographic interface' at center of afro-cuban religion
"Since 2013, Orozco Rubio’s academic research has focused specifically on what he frames as the “emancipation of women” in Cuban Ifá-òrìṣà and includes a thesis and academic conference presentations on gender, Ifá, and òrìṣà worship in contemporary Nigeria" (Meadows 2021).
"Since 2013, Orozco Rubio’s academic research has focused specifically on what he frames as the “emancipation of women” in Cuban Ifá-òrìṣà and includes a thesis and academic conference presentations on gender, Ifá, and òrìṣà worship in contemporary Nigeria" (Meadows 2021).
Women emancipation is only focused on the heteronormative women, which includes being a good wife and mother.
Nagybe Madariaga Pouymiró- female cuban percussionist, was prohibited to play the bata drums, received secret lessons and spent over 6 years learning how to play and sing ritual music while facing intimidation (video of her playing the Bata above)
"Pouymiró continued playing, however, and following one of her public performances on the batá she was assaulted, physically beaten, and hospitalized, an event she directly attributes to her continued batá playing in the face of male intimidation and scorn. Undeterred, she continued playing batá publicly." (Meadows 2021)
"Orozco Rubio agreed that female access to the consecrated batá would be permitted within African traditionalism, having learned through contact with African traditionalist babaláwos in the Americas, visiting Nigerian babaláwos, and videos of contemporary sacred drumming in Yorùbáland that although female sacred percussionists were rare, there was no theological impediment or prohibition to their playing" (Meadows 2021).
Below is the video "Obini Batá 2" "
"Notably, the first instance of women playing consecrated batá would not be a tambor, or ritual event, at all; rather, it would constitute an initial instance of access to the consecrated drums outside of the context of ritual by Pouymiró, Caridad Rubio, and Anais López Rubio with the intent of enabling the women to officiate ceremonies using the batá at a later date" (Meadows 2021). Orozco did not come or oversee event, and the event was not for a ritual
"it is worth noting the selective Yorùbácentrism that Pouymiró and the other women involved exhibit in their approach to Nigerian-style ritual music in Cuba" (Meadows 2021).
"The maneuvering of ownership and control over the details of the event by Orozco Rubio in this case demonstrates the ways in which male control over events rooted in lifelong female struggles for religious egalitarianism renaturalize the hierarchies of male-controlled knowledge and access, even within an ostensibly more open and “emancipatory” Nigerian-style Ifá" (Meadows 2021).
Limitations of the Archive
Limitations of the Archive
There were unfortunately many research limitations when looking for primary source documents. For example, the original “Come Down Moses” sheet music, appears to be lost, along with many primary sources, potentially intentionally made absent. When looking into hip hop, it was a bit easier since the emergence of it has been more recent, but still had many limitations. For example, on the right, is a picture of DJ Bill Hawkins, who was Cleveland’s first African American DJ, and there are no recordings or audio of his work, only a few pictures in the NMAAHC.
”It is important to distinguish the makers of songs from the users of songs. Makers are of course users, but not all users are makers. Nonetheless, in the larger historical context in which social production of musical practices took place, it is not possible to reduce‘black’ music to black producers and white consumers. Consider a slave who is forced to sing: Who is producing music?”(Cruz 1999)
”It is important to distinguish the makers of songs from the users of songs. Makers are of course users, but not all users are makers. Nonetheless, in the larger historical context in which social production of musical practices took place, it is not possible to reduce‘black’ music to black producers and white consumers. Consider a slave who is forced to sing: Who is producing music?”(Cruz 1999)
Patrolling and Controlling the Absence
Patrolling and Controlling the Absence
One can choose to make the present absent when it comes to music, because the musician produced it full of presence, but the listener now has the power to choose what is present and absent in the song. Since Spirituals were brought and passed down through oral translation, much of its original meaning is absent. The commodification of hip hop has lead to the production of absence within the music. To combat these experiences of absence, we can turn to affect theory, as music enacts feelings of home, identity, and the connection to the diaspora in our body.
The Diaspora between Nigeria, Cuba, and the United States
The Diaspora between Nigeria, Cuba, and the United States
The Yoruba religion moved from Nigeria, to Cuba, and finally to the United States, and with those movements, the religion evolved and changed, as we can see above with the differences of the religious music in Cuba -Mules and Men (1935) by Zora Neale Huston describes African American folktales and hoodoo that were influenced by the Yoruba religion and African tales from the past and part of the diaspora -"While there are other African as well as Native American and European sources for other examples of African American orature, the folktales from Mules and Men that I analyze below have clear antecedents in Yoruba ese Ifa." (Washington 2012)
"Both the African American and Yoruba works center on creative control and feature entities of dubious repute." (Washington 2012)
"Both the African American and Yoruba works center on creative control and feature entities of dubious repute." (Washington 2012)
Carl Van Vechten, "Portrait of Zora Neale Hurston," April 3, 1938. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, Van Vechten Collection, Washington, D.C.
Below is an excerpt from Mules and Men that describe the hoodoo or ‘“Ritual to get a man”
Mules and men.pdfAsaphs of Seraph: Yoruba Christian Organization based in the United States, hold an annual convention every year
Akande, Ezekiel. 2018. “Cherubim and Seraphim Youth Retreat NC 2018 4k Revival video"
Akande, Ezekiel. 2018. “Asaphs Of Seraph 2018 main convention chicago 4k resolution clip 1”
"The group of Yoruba men and women living in the United States who belong to the Asaphs of Seraph are characteristic of a 'new' African diaspora that has recently received attention from scholars" (Brennan 2012)
"The group of Yoruba men and women living in the United States who belong to the Asaphs of Seraph are characteristic of a 'new' African diaspora that has recently received attention from scholars" (Brennan 2012)
"Music serves both centripetal and centrifugal roles, allowing both reproduction and creativity in the production of diasporic identities and communities" (Brennan 2012)
"Music serves both centripetal and centrifugal roles, allowing both reproduction and creativity in the production of diasporic identities and communities" (Brennan 2012)
"Music is not only central to the practices of evangelism that animate the community, but it is also the 'essence' of their identity, no matter where they are located" (Brennan 2012)
"Music is not only central to the practices of evangelism that animate the community, but it is also the 'essence' of their identity, no matter where they are located" (Brennan 2012)
Music is key in strengthening the connection to God and the religion, and everyone wears white, which represents the connection to heaven and God
Convention ends with Unity Dance, where all participants sing and dance. The convention is over July 4th weekend, and started in 1998. The spiritual connection through song and dance is the most important factor in the convention.
Convention allows for Nigerian-Americans in general to feel connection and the sense of home with traditional Yourba singing-diaspora
"Musical performances at the annual conventions are a way of producing a transnational community of Yoruba Christians, of keeping migrants connected to Cherubim and Seraphim church communities back home in Nigeria, and most importantly, of producing a form of intersubjectivity through the performative act of singing together" (Brennan 2012)
"Musical performances at the annual conventions are a way of producing a transnational community of Yoruba Christians, of keeping migrants connected to Cherubim and Seraphim church communities back home in Nigeria, and most importantly, of producing a form of intersubjectivity through the performative act of singing together" (Brennan 2012)
"Music is thus a cultural practice of diaspora with distinctive embodied, sensory, linguistic, and commodified mediations and circulations" (Brennan 2012)
"Music is thus a cultural practice of diaspora with distinctive embodied, sensory, linguistic, and commodified mediations and circulations" (Brennan 2012)
Works Cited
Works Cited
Brennan, Vicki L. 2012. “‘Truly We Have a Good Heritage’: Musical Mediations in a Yoruba Christian Diaspora.” Journal of Religion in Africa 42 (1): 3–25.
Cruz, Jon. 1999. Culture on the Margins : The Black Spiritual and the Rise of American Cultural Interpretation. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.
Hurston, Zora Neale. 1978. Mules and Men. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hurston, Zora Neale. 1970. Mules and Men. New York: Harper & Row
Jassey, Vicky. “The Rise of Female Batá Drummers.” Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, 2019
Meadows, Ruthie. 2021. “Tradicionalismo Africano in Cuba: Women, Consecrated Batá, and the Polemics of ‘Re-Yorubization’ in Cuban Ritual Music.” Ethnomusicology 65 (1): 86–111.
Norwood, Arlisha. "Zora Hurston." National Women's History Museum. 2017. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/zora-hurston.
Rose, Tricia. 1994. Black Noise : Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press.
Olupona, Jacob K., Terry, Rey. 2008. Òrìşà Devotion as World Religion: the Globalization of Yorùbá Religious Culture. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press.
Omojola, Bode. 2012. Yorùbá Music in the Twentieth Century : Identity, Agency, and Performance Practice. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
Osumare, Halifu. "Rap and Hip Hop." In The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought. : Oxford University Press, 2010.
Washington, Teresa N. 2012. “Mules and Men and Messiahs: Continuity in Yoruba Divination Verses and African American Folktales.” The Journal of American Folklore 125 (497): 263–85.
Videos
Videos
Akande, Ezekiel. 2018. “Asaphs Of Seraph 2018 main convention chicago 4k resolution clip 1” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1T2VuLyAk0
Akande, Ezekiel. 2018.“Cherubim and Seraphim Youth Retreat NC 2018 4k Revival video”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd3mkxO6WNQ Akande, Ezekiel. 2018.
Armstrong, Louis. 2012. "Go Down Moses." YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf6jBP4YXwo
Golden Gospel Singers. 2013. "Oh Freedom! Golden Gospel Singers (Lyrics in Descriptions)." YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veiJLhXdwn8
Jassey, Vicky. 2019. "The Rise of Female Bata Drummers" Milián Galí Riverí (iyá), Regla Palacio (itótele), Nagybe Madariaga Pouymiró (okónkolo). https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/gender-taboos-cuban-bata-drumming
Jassey, Vicky. 2019. "The Rise of Female Bata Drummers"
Obini Batá in Havana, Cuba, https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/gender-taboos-cuban-bata-drumming
Kool DJ Herc. 2009. "Viva Freestyle Kool DJ Herc Live." YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjmXMvLU1ps&t=295s
Noble Omoniyi. 2018. "17 Mins Yoruba High Praise Song Lyrics Video [with English Translation]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuQQW2K9REQ
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