South African Music Archive Project

An Osingolio Longishu cattle song. "The Germans are nothing to us. They were defeated by the English. We are not sleeping and will fight for our country. We love our country and our cattle."

The Arusha tribe fought on several occasions against the Germans during their early occupation of Tanganyika. Different men take over the solo between the chorus refrains.

A Msego mourning dance song with Kayamba raft rattles, a gourd horn and whistling. "Keep yourself ready". This Msego dance started with the sound of the horn, followed by the leader of the group who sings the first verse. This is repeated by the dancers whistling the melody twice over after which the dance proper begins with rattles. Details from ILAM field card D7N - 7 & 8

A topical song with accordian and struck iron. The accordian is used as a ground which creates a happy noise but has little, if any, melodic or harmonic relationship to the tonality or mode of the voice.
Song to accompany a town dance in which men and women dance together in pairs, after the fashion of Europeans.
Further details refer ILAM field card number: F3B 6

A Mamboko dance song with accordian and struck iron. The "struck iron" was an old starter ring from the flywheel of a car. It is necessary to have a circular or 'S' shaped piece of metal for convenient playing of the double beat. The performer called it 'Kengere' or 'Beru' bell.
The sweepers in Nairobi, they say, always come from Embu. Kibunga Waita, the iron player, was no exception. Elsewhere in Africa certain tribes tend to adopt one occupation exclusively.
After hearing a few Kikuyu songs to the accompaniment of the iron and accordian, the listener who is not case hardened to the noise, may experience a singing in the ears for several hours afterwards.
Listening to this kind of Kikuyu music is more a feat of endurance than an aesthetic pleasure.Further details refer ILAM field card number: F3H 3

Dance music for Muchongolo Tumbling dance with 3 drums and clappers. Recorded at C.M.R. Mine, Transvaal, South Africa. The tumbling dance which has been developed by the Ndau people has not only spread south to neighbouring tribes, but has now become a favourite spectacle on the gold mines of South Africa, where its performance delights the miners of other tribes as well. It is usually acrobatic and humorous, and is performed to complex rhythms on the drums.
The performance of the dancers is frequently of a high order demanding considerable gymnastic ability. Details from ILAM field card (H1F-4A - B)