Editing Pygmy music

{{Short description|Sub-Saharan African music tradition}}
{{Inline citations|date=December 2023}}[[File:Africa Speaks! (1930) - Pygmy Drummers.jpg|thumb|230px|Pygmy drummers, 1930]]

'''Pygmy music''' refers to the  [[sub-Saharan African music traditions]] of the [[Central African foragers]] (or "Pygmies"), predominantly in [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|the Congo]], the [[Central African Republic]] and [[Cameroon]]. 

Pygmy groups include the [[Bayaka]], the [[Mbuti]], and the [[Twa peoples|Batwa]].

Music is an important part of Pygmy life, and casual performances take place during many of the day's events. Music comes in many forms, including the spiritual [[likanos]] stories, [[vocable]] singing and music played from a variety of instruments including the [[bow harp]] (''ieta''), ''[[ngombi]]'' ([[harp zither]]) and ''[[limbindi]]'' (a string bow).

Researchers who have studied Pygmy music include [[Simha Arom]], [[Louis Sarno]], [[Colin Turnbull]] and [[Jean-Pierre Hallet]].

== Polyphonic song ==
[[File:African Pygmies (labeled).png|thumb|left|Location of pygmy peoples]]

The Mbenga ([[Aka people|Aka/Benzele]]) and Baka peoples in the west and the [[Mbuti]] (Efé) in the east are particularly known for their dense [[counterpoint|contrapuntal]] communal [[improvisation]]. [[Simha Arom]] says that the level of [[polyphonic]] complexity of Mbenga–Mbuti music was reached in Europe only in the 14th century.<ref>Aimard, Pierre-Laurent; Ligeti, György; Reich, Steve; Arom, Simha; and Schomann, Stefan (2003). Liner notes, ''African Rhythms''. Music by [[Aka (Pygmy tribe)|Aka]] Pygmies, performed by Aka Pygmies; Ligeti and Reich, performed by Aimard. Teldec Classics: 8573 86584-2.</ref> The polyphonic singing of the Aka Pygmies was relisted on the [[Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]] in 2008.

Mbenga–Mbuti Pygmy music consists of up to four parts and can be described as an "[[ostinato]] with [[variation (music)|variations]]" similar to a [[passacaglia]] in that it is cyclical. It is based on repetition of periods of equal length that each singer divides using different rhythmic figures specific to different repertoires and songs. This creates a detailed surface and endless variations not only of the same period repeated but of various performances of the same piece of music. As in some [[Bali]]nese [[gamelan]] music, these patterns are based on a super-pattern which is never heard. The Pygmies themselves do not learn or think of their music in this theoretical framework, but learn the music growing up.

Polyphonic music is only characteristic of the Mbenga and Mbuti. The [[Gyele people|Gyele/Kola]], [[Great Lakes Twa]] and [[Southern Twa]] have very different musical styles.

==Liquindi==
Liquindi is [[water drumming]], typically practiced by [[Pygmy]] women and girls. The [[sound]] is produced by persons standing in water, and hitting the surface of the water with their hands, such as to trap air in the hands and produce a [[percussive]] effect that arises by sudden change in air pressure of the trapped air. The sound cannot exist entirely in water, since it requires the air-water boundary as a surface to be struck, so the sound is not [[hydraulophone|hydraulophonic]].

==Hindewhu==
Hindewhu is a style of singing/whistle-playing of the [[Babenzele|BaBenzélé]] [[pygmies]] of the [[Central African Republic]]. The term ''hindewhu'' is an [[onomatopoeia]] of the sound                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     of a performer alternately singing pitched syllables and blowing into a single-pitch [[papaya]]-stem whistle, in an interlocked rhythm similar to the ''gutera-kwakira'' structure of the [[Burundi|Burundian]] [[akazehe]]. Hindewhu announces the return from a hunt and is performed solo, duo or in groups.

== Western popularization ==

[[Colin M. Turnbull]], an American [[anthropology|anthropologist]], wrote a book about the Efé Pygmies, ''[[The Forest People]]'', in 1965. This introduced Mbuti culture to Western countries. Turnbull claimed that the Mbuti viewed the forest as a parental spirit with which they could communicate via song.

Some of Turnbull's recordings of Efé music were commercially released and inspired more [[ethnomusicology|ethnomusicological]] study such as by [[Simha Arom]], a French-Israeli who recorded hindewhu, and [[Luis Devin]], an Italian ethnomusicologist who studied in depth the musical rituals and instruments of Baka Pygmies.

Some popular musicians have used hindewhu in their music:

*"Hunting", a song by [[Deep Forest]] from their album ''[[Made in Japan (Deep Forest album)|Made in Japan]]''.
*"Ba-Benzélé", a song by [[Jon Hassell]] and [[Brian Eno]] from the album ''[[Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics]]'' (1980).
*"Fabulous" (1983), a tune by [[John Oswald (composer)|John Oswald]] and [[Dick Hyman]] from the album ''[[plunderphonics]]'' (1989).
*Percussionist [[Bill Summers (jazz)|Bill Summers]] imitates hindewhu in the track "[[Watermelon Man (composition)|Watermelon Man]]" by [[Herbie Hancock]] from the 1973 album ''[[Head Hunters (album)|Head Hunters]]'' (see [[hocket]]).
*"Sanctuary", a song by [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] from the album  ''[[Bedtime Stories (Madonna album)|Bedtime Stories]]'' (1994) samples the Herbie Hancock recording.
*In 1992 the popularization of Pygmy music spread with the release of [[Eric Mouquet]] and [[Michel Sanchez (musician)|Michel Sanchez]]'s ''[[Deep Forest]]''. A percentage of the proceeds from each album were donated to the [[Pygmy Fund]] set up to aid [[Zaire]]'s Pygmies. The album was nevertheless subject to controversy, as the project used samples recorded by ethnomusicologist [[Hugo Zemp]] without permission; further controversy was stirred by the lack of consideration given to the original performer - a Northern Malaitian woman named Afunakwa - by either party during the resultant legal battle.
*Also in 1992 Martin Cradick and [[Su Hart]] spent three months living with and recording Baka in [[Cameroon]].<ref name="All Music">{{cite web| url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/baka-beyond-mn0000077951/discography | title=Baka Beyond| publisher =[[AllMusic.com]]| accessdate=28 September 2013 }}</ref> result was the creation of the band [[Baka Beyond]] and the release of their collaboration with the Baka musicians, "Spirit of the Forest" alongside the album "Heart of the Forest", and a musical relationship that has lasted over twenty years. Proceeds from both these albums have returned to the Baka musicians through the charity ''Global Music Exchange'' which continues to work with the Baka helping them in their rapidly changing environment.<ref>{{cite web | title = Baka Beyond, Cargo, London |work = The Guardian |date = 19 March 2005 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/mar/19/worldmusic | accessdate = 2013-10-13  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = World Music Central.org | url = http://worldmusiccentral.org/artists/artist_page.php?id=27 | accessdate = 2013-10-13  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Baka Beyond ( Portugal & Spain) – virtualWOMEX | url = http://www.womex.com/virtual/roots_and_rhythms/baka_beyond_portugal | accessdate = 2013-10-13  }}</ref>
*Pianist [[Pierre-Laurent Aimard]] programmed recordings of Pygmy songs (performed by the Aka Pygmies) with works of contemporary composers [[György Ligeti]] and [[Steve Reich]] on his ''African Rhythms'' (2003).<ref>{{Allmusic|class=album|id=mw0000135501| label=''African Rhythms'' – Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Aka Pygmies}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources and further reading==
* Abram, Dave. "Sounds From the African Rainforest". 2000.  In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), ''World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East'', pp. 601–607. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. {{ISBN|1-85828-636-0}}
* Lotte Hughes, ''The No-Nonsense Guide to Indigenous Peoples'' (Verso, 2003) {{ISBN|1859844383}}, p 109 
* Born, Georgina & Hesmondhalgh, David [ed.] (2000). ''Western Music and Its Others: Difference, Representation, and Appropriation in Music''. [[University of California Press]]. pp.&nbsp;156–159. {{ISBN|0-520-22084-6}}
* Plantenga, Bart. ''Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World''. (Routledge, 2004) {{ISBN|978-0415939904}}. 
* Plantenga, bart. ''Yodel in Hi-Fi: From Kitsch Folk to Contemporary Electronica''. (University of Wisconsin Press / Autonomedia 2013-2017) {{ISBN|978-029929054-2}}.

==Discography==
* ''Aka Pygmy Music''.  Recorded by [[Simha Arom]].  Philips 6586 016.  Part of the [[UNESCO Collection]] ([[Musical Sources]] I-2); reissued as Auvidis D 8054.
* ''Ba-Benzélé Pygmies''.  Bärenreiter BM 30 L 2303.  Part of the [[UNESCO Collection]] (third in the [[Anthology of African Music]]); reissued as Rounder CD 5107.
* ''Cameroon: Baka Pygmy Music'' (1977).  EMI/Odeon 3C 064-18265.  Part of the [[UNESCO Collection]] ([[Musical Atlas]], #18); reissued as Auvidis D 8029 (1990).
*''African Rhythms'' (2003). Music by [[Aka (Pygmy tribe)|Aka]] Pygmies, performed by Aka Pygmies, [[György Ligeti]] and [[Steve Reich]], performed by [[Pierre-Laurent Aimard]]. Teldec Classics: 8573 86584-2. Liner notes by Aimard, Ligeti, Reich, and Simha Arom and Stefan Schomann.
*''Music of the Rainforest Pygmies''. Historic recordings made by [[Colin M. Turnbull]]. Lyrichord: LYRCD 7157.
*''Echoes of the Forest: Music of the Central African Pygmies''. Recordings by [[Colin M. Turnbull]], [[Jean-Pierre Hallet]] and [[Louis Sarno]]. Ellipsis Arts: Musical Expeditions CD 4020
*''Heart of the Forest: Music of the Baka Forest People of South-East Cameroon''(1993). Recordings by Martin Cradick and Jeremy Avis. Hannibal Records: HNCD1378.
*''Baka in the Forest: traditional songs of the Baka women recorded live in the Cameroon rainforest.''(2009). Recordings by [[Su Hart]]. March Hare: MAHA CD29.
* "Voice of the Rainforest' (2013).Traditional Baka music recorded by Martin Cradick. March Hare Music: MAHA CD32.
* 'Gati Bongo'.(2006). Music by Orchestre Baka Gbiné, an entirely Baka band from S E Cameroon. March Hare Music. MAHA CD23.
* 'Kopolo'.(2012) The second album by Orchestre Baka Gbiné. March Hare Music: MAHA CD30.

==External links==
*[http://www.baka.co.uk/baka/music/liquindi.htm Water Drumming (Liquindi)]
*[http://www.frantisekpavlik.estranky.cz/clanky/o-nastrojich/liquindi-_-water-drums  Frantovy stránky - O nástrojích - Liquindi / Water drums]
*[http://www.pygmies.org/ African Pygmies] Pygmy music and culture, with audio recordings and soundscapes
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050206121222/http://citypaper.net/articles/061396/article001.shtml Philadelphia CityPaper.net: 20 questions] [[Louis Sarno]] an interview by Deni Kasrel, June 13&ndash;20, 1996 regarding BaBenzl Pygmies
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130522011458/http://www.deepforest.co/ Deep Forest music site] - with music samples
*[http://www.baka.co.uk/baka/ Baka Forest People] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211122300/http://www.baka.co.uk/baka/ |date=2008-12-11 }} - many music samples, photos and videos of Baka music
*[http://www.bakabeyond.net/ Baka Beyond site] - with links to access Baka recordings
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6T6suvnhco Francis Bebey at Real World Studios] a video of [[Francis Bebey]] discussing and demonstrating Hindewhu
* http://www.hangblog.org/hang-sound-models/#firstgenerationsoundmodels2002

{{UNESCO Oral and Intangible music}}

[[Category:Music of Central Africa]]
[[Category:African Pygmies]]
[[Category:Pentatonic scales]]