Introduction: The Minstrel as the Custodian of Civilizational Memory In the vast and rhythmically complex tapestry of West African music, few figures loom as large or as distinctively as "Gentleman" Mike Ejeagha. While the highlife giants of the 20th century; Rex Lawson, Osita Osadebe, and Oliver de Coque; dominated the dance halls with boisterous brass and guitar-driven dance music, Mike Ejeagha carved out a unique, contemplative niche that bridged the ancient and the modern. He is no...
Abstract/Overview This study investigated changes of themes in Kamba circumcision songs with the aim of finding out the causes of these changes. The research was conducted at Nzyiitu, Kalimbui, Kaluilaa, Ngalange, Mwangea and Nzanzeni. The study was conducted in this area because the Kamba people living here still hold onto the practice of circumcision rites despite socialeconomic shifts in the ever changing society. The research was guided by the theory of ethnography of communication wh...
Abstract/Overview For long, it has been believed that song of abuse, as it has come to be called, is a preserve of west African communities. Early inroads into this oral subgenre were made by scholars who, more often than not, hailed from Ghana and Nigeria. A false impression of its locus was created to the effect that it was region-specific. This paper is an attempt to illustrate the pervasiveness of this verbal art, in disguised forms among the Swahili of East African. Drawing illustrat...