Shona Music Culture

Music in the Shona culture is an integral part of life. Locke includes a brief history of the Shona which live primarily in the Zimbabwe area. One of the things that he dedicates most of the Shona section to is the mbira (Thumb piano). This is of course a very essential part of their culture. This is why both sources (the book and encyclopedia) describe it extensively. Looking at mbira music one gets a sense of the aesthetics of Shona music and the style expected within the genre of mbira music.  Both sources discuss things like polyrhythm, and 12 pulse phrases in the 48 pulse cycle, and this quality of repeating phrases in a way that there seems to be no beginning or end (Which could be another aspect that connects it with the spiritual world.) They also describe two parts of a mbira song which are the kushaura (leading part)  kutsinhira (following). The tuning or chuning is described differently in all sources, but they do agree that there are multiple tunings and they don’t just include pitch, but tone quality, and loudness.

The Garland encyclopedia entry is useful in understanding the Shona music culture because it not only described the important aspects of mbira culture described above but it went deeper and was more specific about different aspects of the Shona music culture. According to Kaemmer, Shona consider music to be very powerful and they value it greatly. The encyclopedia describes the speculated history of the mbira, like the theory that musical bows led to mbira. It also mentioned the influence other tribes, like the San, had on Shona music. Vocal genres that are usually sung along with the mbira were also specifically mentioned, and I didn’t really pick up on this idea in the Shona section of the book. The encyclopedia describes yodeling, responsorial form, and improvisation when singing. There is also a discussion of the importance of drums. Drums aren’t really mentioned in the book but in the encyclopedia it states that drums are describes as one of the most important instruments to the Shona. It describes different types of drums like the mhito, dandi, and mutumba. Other instruments mentioned in the encyclopedia were the panpipes, rattles, and the musical bow. The rattles and the panpipes are usually played together. I feel like these instruments shed a different light on the Shona culture.

An important aspect of music culture that the encyclopedia specifically mentions is the perception the Shona have of music in general. The Shona seem to associate music with the supernatural. Good drumming or dancing was associated with ancestral spirits liking you. Music has powers that other things don’t have. It can put people in trances or even charm people to doing things they wouldn’t expect to do. There is also a culture of interpreting old songs in new ways and not really creating new compositions. This is why many songs are still remembered. The text also states that men and women both have active roles in music making, although instrument playing is more associated with men. I also thought that the activities involving music were very diverse. Shona used music for spiritual purposes (To bring mediums into a trance like state ideal for possession), working, and women even composed Grinding songs about their husband’s wrongdoings and sang them out loud as a way to shame them into behaving. In the end it also describes the European influence of Shona music.

The online entry I found solidified everything I learned by providing me with the perspective of people that are actually play the mbira and are involved in the Shona culture. It is the website of a non-profit organization that is trying to keep the mbira culture alive. There are many biographies that describe the lives of mbira players today. I read a biography about a man named "Samaita" Vitalis Wilbert Botsa. He was the youngest boy in his family and from a very young age he showed an interest in playing the mbira. Most of his family played the mbira so it would have seemed like they would have been supportive, but they weren’t. They didn’t want to teach their brother and he only learned because he listened and stole their mbira to try and practice what he had heard. It wasn’t until after he showed potential that he was supported. Botsa also describes spirit possession ceremonies which he regularly attends and plays for. One thing he said that surprised me, was that he played with a medium and sometimes it would be difficult to play with him if he became possessed in the middle of a ceremony. This is something so normal to him in his culture and it’s a different experience to read it from someone that actually lives it. I also saw the singing with the mbira put into action on a video found on the website. This player links the different types of tuning, the mavembe which seems to be more difficult to master, and the nyamaropa or straight tuning, to aesthetics stating that the mavambe amazed him. Another biography I enjoyed hearing was about a woman named Patience Chaitezvi. She learned to play at a young age because her family was also greatly involved with music, but her family was very supportive of her; which is a bit strange because mbira is traditionally played by men.

I used the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 1: Africa. The section I used is found on pg 744-757. It is called Music of the Shona of Zimbabwe by John E. Kaemmer.

My website is called MBIRA. This is the link to the musician biographies:  http://www.mbira.org/musicians.html