who asked the first question? - International Research Center For ...

43Muslim, and some of the biggest patrons of popular music are wealthy Muslimentrepreneurs” (Waterman, 1998:474).West African popular music has very rich traditions (with charismatic performerslike Tunde King, star of popular Juju style, and particularly Fela Anikulapo Kuti fromNigeria). According to C. Waterman, “To draw a sharp boundary between “traditional”and “popular” music in Yoruba society is impossible. The criteria most commonlyinvoked in attempt to formulate a cross-cultural definition of popular music – openness tochange, syncretism, intertexuality, urban prominence, commodification – arecharacteristic even of those genres Yoruba musicians and audiences identify as deepYoruba” (Waterman, 1998:487)MadagascarAlthough the island Madagascar is situated off the southeast coast of Africa, thepopulation and the culture of this island (or the Republic of Malagasy) have very stronghistorical, ethnic and cultural contacts with the outside of Africa regions. Austronesianspeakingpeoples of the Southeast Asia are supposed to be the first settlers here. Theirinitial settlement of the island (presumably about A.D. 500) was followed by themigrations (from around A.D. 1000) from the Arabic counties and the continental Africa,and later – from the Europe. Islam spread on the island from around A.D. 1500 andcreated the basis for the emergence of hierarchical kingdoms among the Malagasy. Theisland has been a scene of the struggle between the three major forces: the kingdom ofSakalava (western coast of Madagascar), the confederacy of eastern coastal ethnicgroups, and the kingdom of Merina (central part of Madagascar).Musical traditions of the republic of Malagasy are as diverse as the ethnic originsof its population. Same is true about the vocal polyphony of different regions of theisland. Let us listen to the expert of the music of the Republic of Malagasy, MireilleRakotomalala: “At present, the mixture of African and southeast Asian influence isvisible in all genres of music among the Malagasy, though some genres reflect oneinfluence more strongly than others. Gilbert Rouget, for example, called the choralpolyphony of the central island Merina, with its intervals of thirds and sixths and rapidrhythms, “oceanic” (1946:87), and found a more pronounced African influence amongthe Sakalava, with genres in call-and-response style, appearing more rhythmic thanmelodic (p. 88). Norma McLeod identifies two styles – one distinct to the Merina, theVakinankaratra, and the Betsileo of the central highlands, and the other more typical ofgroups in the southern desert. Both styles demonstrate the polyphony mentioned byRouget, and both show rhythms whose variability depends on whether the music is meantfor dancing or singing. Of the difference between the two styles, McLeod says “songs inthe high plateau area are set strophically. In the desert region, … litany is prominent withsome examples of development into serial polyphony” (1980:547) (cited fromRakotomalala, 1998:783).To finish the survey of the vocal polyphonic traditions of the sub-Saharan Africa,would be appropriate to mention the outstanding influence of sub-Saharan populations onthe musical cultures of the different parts of the world, and particularly the Americas.Transported from their native lands initially as slaves, representatives of sub-Saharan