Locating hope in performance: lessons from Edward Kabuye
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21504/amj.v8i3.1833Abstract
This article draws upon fieldwork in Nairobi, Kenya, and scholarly literature to consider the efficacy of music in communicating messages and promoting social change. I focus on the work of Nairobi-based Ugandan artist Edward Kabuye. Kabuye's projects reveal his approach to life: his creative thinking, his desire to address the problems facing the communities in which he lives, and his perseverance despite myriad challenges. Through performance, Kabuye seeks to persuade audience members to rethink the circumstances of their lives and to take positive action.References
Agawu, Kofi 1992 "Representing African Music", Critical Inquiry, 18(2):245-266
1995 "The Invention of 'African Rhythm'", Journal of the American Musicological Society, 48(3):380-395
2003 Representing African Music: Postcolonial Notes, Queries, Positions, New York and London: Routledge
Agengo, Janet 2000 "A Song and Dance for Culture", The Weekly Advertiser, 88 (November 13-19):12
Akombo, David Otieno 2005 "Reporting on Music Therapy in Kenya", Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, www.voices.no/mainissues/mitextllakombo.html (accessed 25 February 2006)
Alagoa, E.J. 1968 "Songs as Historical Data: Examples from the Niger Delta", Research Review, 5(1): 1-16
Appiah, Kwame Anthony 1992 In my Father s House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Bakan, Michael B. 1999 Music of Death and New Creation: Experiences in the World of Balinese Gamelan Beleganjur, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Barz, Gregory 2004 Music in East Africa: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press
2006 Singing for Life: HIV/AIDS and Music in Uganda, New York: Routledge
Bebey, Francis 1975 African Music: A People 's Art, Brooklyn, NY: Lawrence Hills [1969]
Brown, Carol 2006 "Hope Restored, History Reclaimed", Informational brochure, Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles
Bourgault, Louise M. 2003 Playing for Life: Performance in Africa in the Age of AIDS, Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press
Byerly, Ingrid Bianca 1998 "Mirror, Mediator and Prophet: The Music Indaba of Late-apartheid South Africa", Ethnomusicology, 42(1): 1-44
Cooley, Timothy J. 1997 "Casting Shadows in the Field: An Introduction", in Gregory F. Barz and Timothy J. Cooley (eds) Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, pp. 3-19, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Danielson, Virginia 1997 The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthüm, Arabic song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Davis, Martha Ellen 1992 "Careers, 'Alternative Careers,' and the Unity between Theory and Practice in Ethnomusicology", Ethnomusicology, 36(3):361-387
The Drum Café 2007 "The Drum Café: East Africa's Drum Music Platform", http://www. drumcafesafari.org/index.htm (accessed 25 April 2008)
Feintuch, Burt 1988 "Introduction: Folklore and the Public Sector", in Burt Feintuch (ed.) The Conservation of Culture: Folklorists and the Public Sector, pp. 1-16, Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky
Hellier-Tinico, Ruth 2003 "Experiencing People: Relationships, Responsibility and Reciprocity", British Journal of Ethnomusicology, 21 (1) : 19-34
Kidula, Jean Ngoya 2006 "Ethnomusicology, the Music Canon, and African Music: Positions, Tensions, and Resolutions in the African Academy", Africa Today, 52(3):99-113
Kimani, Peter 1999 "Music and Dance Mark Uganda Week", Daily Nation, (5 February):5
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara 1988. "Mistaken Dichotomies", The Journal of American Folklore 101(400):140- 155
Marcus, George E. and James Clifford 1985 "The Making of Ethnographie Texts: A Preliminary Report", Current Anthropology, 26(2):267-271
Marcus, George E. and Dick Cushman 1982 "Ethnographies as Text", Annual Review of Anthropology, 11:25-69
Marcus, George E. and Michael M. J. Fischer 1986 Anthropology as Cultural Critique: An Experimental Moment in the Human Sciences, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press
Mjomba, Leonard Majalia 2005 "Empowering Kenyan Youth to Combat HIV/AIDS Using Ngoma Dialogue Circles: A Grounded Theory Approach", Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio University
Mumelo, Emmanuel 2001a This is a report on the rapid assessment of the awareness raising activities via theatre performances by the Bidii Drama Group affiliated to Ghomcho wood carvers and Ghomcho women group s drama club, Nairobi, Kenya: SNV/SAFI, the Netherlands Development Organization
2001b Report on the rapid assessment of community outreach and awareness programmes by: the Mamba Community Drama Group and the Meagari Women Group, Nairobi, Kenya: SNV/SAFI, the Netherlands Development Organization
n.d. A report on the rapid assesment [sic] of the Community Outreach and Awareness Programe [sic] by the Bubisa Women Group, Nairobi, Kenya: SNV/SAFI, the Netherlands Development Organization
Nketia, J.H. Kwabena 1974 The Music of Africa, New York: W. W. Norton
Ottenberg, Simon 1996 Seeing with Music: The Lives of Three Blind African Musicians, Seattle: University of Washington Press
Rice, Timothy 1994 May It Fill Your Soul: Experiencing Bulgarian Music, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Seeger, Anthony 1979 "What Can We Learn When They Sing? Vocal Genres of the Suya Indians of Central Brazil", Ethnomusicology, 23(3):373-394
2008 "Theories Forged in the Crucible of Action: The Joys, Dangers, and Potentials of Advocacy and Fieldwork", in Gregory Barz and Timothy J. Cooley (eds) Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, pp. 271-288, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Shelemay, Kay Kaufman 1998 Let Jasmine Rain Down: Song and Remembrance among Syrian Jews, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press
Singhal, Arvind and Everett M. Rogers 1999 Entertainment-education: A Communication Strategy for Social Change, Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Stock, Jonathan 1996 Musical Creativity in Twentieth Century China: Abingf His Music, and Its Changing Meanings, Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press
Stoller, Paul 1994 "Ethnographies as Texts/Ethnographers as Griots", American Ethnologist, 21(2):353-366
Sugarman, Jane 1997 Engendering song: Singing and Subjectivity at Prespa Albanian Weddings, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Titon, Jeff Todd 1992 "Music, the Public Interest, and the Practice of Ethnomusicology", Ethnomusicology, 36(3):315-322
Turino, Thomas 2000 Nationalists, Cosmopolitans, and Popular Music in Zimbabwe, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Van Buren, Kathleen 2006 "Stealing Elephants, Creating Futures: Exploring Uses of Music and Other Arts for Community Education in Nairobi, Kenya", PhD dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles
2007 "Partnering for Social Change: Exploring Relationships between Musicians and Organizations in Nairobi, Kenya"Ethnomusicology Forum, 16(2):303- 326
Discography/filmography
The Talking Drums of Africa 1998 "Ayowei", Video recording provided courtesy of Edward Kabuye
2000 Message for our people, The Talking Drums of Africa
Various artists 2000 Festival Mundial: Één wereld, één toekomst, Alpi Productions, Mundial Productions BUMA/STEMRA
Interviews
Kabuye, Edward 1996 Drumming, dance, and song lessons with the artist, Nairobi, June- August
2001 Email communication with artist, 31 January
2004a Interview with artist, Nairobi, 28 August
2004b Interview with artist, Nairobi, 29 August
2004c Interview with artist, Nairobi, 12 September
2006 Email communication with artist, 20 February
Kamau, Gathecha 2004 Interview with country coordinator for Youth Employment Summit Campaign Kenya, Nairobi, 4 May
Ochango, Abil 2004a Interview with artist, Nairobi, 10 August
2004b Interview with artist, Nairobi, 1 September
Wanda, Stella 2004 Interview with artist, Nairobi, 14 September
1995 "The Invention of 'African Rhythm'", Journal of the American Musicological Society, 48(3):380-395
2003 Representing African Music: Postcolonial Notes, Queries, Positions, New York and London: Routledge
Agengo, Janet 2000 "A Song and Dance for Culture", The Weekly Advertiser, 88 (November 13-19):12
Akombo, David Otieno 2005 "Reporting on Music Therapy in Kenya", Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, www.voices.no/mainissues/mitextllakombo.html (accessed 25 February 2006)
Alagoa, E.J. 1968 "Songs as Historical Data: Examples from the Niger Delta", Research Review, 5(1): 1-16
Appiah, Kwame Anthony 1992 In my Father s House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Bakan, Michael B. 1999 Music of Death and New Creation: Experiences in the World of Balinese Gamelan Beleganjur, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Barz, Gregory 2004 Music in East Africa: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press
2006 Singing for Life: HIV/AIDS and Music in Uganda, New York: Routledge
Bebey, Francis 1975 African Music: A People 's Art, Brooklyn, NY: Lawrence Hills [1969]
Brown, Carol 2006 "Hope Restored, History Reclaimed", Informational brochure, Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles
Bourgault, Louise M. 2003 Playing for Life: Performance in Africa in the Age of AIDS, Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press
Byerly, Ingrid Bianca 1998 "Mirror, Mediator and Prophet: The Music Indaba of Late-apartheid South Africa", Ethnomusicology, 42(1): 1-44
Cooley, Timothy J. 1997 "Casting Shadows in the Field: An Introduction", in Gregory F. Barz and Timothy J. Cooley (eds) Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, pp. 3-19, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Danielson, Virginia 1997 The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthüm, Arabic song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Davis, Martha Ellen 1992 "Careers, 'Alternative Careers,' and the Unity between Theory and Practice in Ethnomusicology", Ethnomusicology, 36(3):361-387
The Drum Café 2007 "The Drum Café: East Africa's Drum Music Platform", http://www. drumcafesafari.org/index.htm (accessed 25 April 2008)
Feintuch, Burt 1988 "Introduction: Folklore and the Public Sector", in Burt Feintuch (ed.) The Conservation of Culture: Folklorists and the Public Sector, pp. 1-16, Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky
Hellier-Tinico, Ruth 2003 "Experiencing People: Relationships, Responsibility and Reciprocity", British Journal of Ethnomusicology, 21 (1) : 19-34
Kidula, Jean Ngoya 2006 "Ethnomusicology, the Music Canon, and African Music: Positions, Tensions, and Resolutions in the African Academy", Africa Today, 52(3):99-113
Kimani, Peter 1999 "Music and Dance Mark Uganda Week", Daily Nation, (5 February):5
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara 1988. "Mistaken Dichotomies", The Journal of American Folklore 101(400):140- 155
Marcus, George E. and James Clifford 1985 "The Making of Ethnographie Texts: A Preliminary Report", Current Anthropology, 26(2):267-271
Marcus, George E. and Dick Cushman 1982 "Ethnographies as Text", Annual Review of Anthropology, 11:25-69
Marcus, George E. and Michael M. J. Fischer 1986 Anthropology as Cultural Critique: An Experimental Moment in the Human Sciences, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press
Mjomba, Leonard Majalia 2005 "Empowering Kenyan Youth to Combat HIV/AIDS Using Ngoma Dialogue Circles: A Grounded Theory Approach", Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio University
Mumelo, Emmanuel 2001a This is a report on the rapid assessment of the awareness raising activities via theatre performances by the Bidii Drama Group affiliated to Ghomcho wood carvers and Ghomcho women group s drama club, Nairobi, Kenya: SNV/SAFI, the Netherlands Development Organization
2001b Report on the rapid assessment of community outreach and awareness programmes by: the Mamba Community Drama Group and the Meagari Women Group, Nairobi, Kenya: SNV/SAFI, the Netherlands Development Organization
n.d. A report on the rapid assesment [sic] of the Community Outreach and Awareness Programe [sic] by the Bubisa Women Group, Nairobi, Kenya: SNV/SAFI, the Netherlands Development Organization
Nketia, J.H. Kwabena 1974 The Music of Africa, New York: W. W. Norton
Ottenberg, Simon 1996 Seeing with Music: The Lives of Three Blind African Musicians, Seattle: University of Washington Press
Rice, Timothy 1994 May It Fill Your Soul: Experiencing Bulgarian Music, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Seeger, Anthony 1979 "What Can We Learn When They Sing? Vocal Genres of the Suya Indians of Central Brazil", Ethnomusicology, 23(3):373-394
2008 "Theories Forged in the Crucible of Action: The Joys, Dangers, and Potentials of Advocacy and Fieldwork", in Gregory Barz and Timothy J. Cooley (eds) Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, pp. 271-288, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Shelemay, Kay Kaufman 1998 Let Jasmine Rain Down: Song and Remembrance among Syrian Jews, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press
Singhal, Arvind and Everett M. Rogers 1999 Entertainment-education: A Communication Strategy for Social Change, Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Stock, Jonathan 1996 Musical Creativity in Twentieth Century China: Abingf His Music, and Its Changing Meanings, Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press
Stoller, Paul 1994 "Ethnographies as Texts/Ethnographers as Griots", American Ethnologist, 21(2):353-366
Sugarman, Jane 1997 Engendering song: Singing and Subjectivity at Prespa Albanian Weddings, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Titon, Jeff Todd 1992 "Music, the Public Interest, and the Practice of Ethnomusicology", Ethnomusicology, 36(3):315-322
Turino, Thomas 2000 Nationalists, Cosmopolitans, and Popular Music in Zimbabwe, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Van Buren, Kathleen 2006 "Stealing Elephants, Creating Futures: Exploring Uses of Music and Other Arts for Community Education in Nairobi, Kenya", PhD dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles
2007 "Partnering for Social Change: Exploring Relationships between Musicians and Organizations in Nairobi, Kenya"Ethnomusicology Forum, 16(2):303- 326
Discography/filmography
The Talking Drums of Africa 1998 "Ayowei", Video recording provided courtesy of Edward Kabuye
2000 Message for our people, The Talking Drums of Africa
Various artists 2000 Festival Mundial: Één wereld, één toekomst, Alpi Productions, Mundial Productions BUMA/STEMRA
Interviews
Kabuye, Edward 1996 Drumming, dance, and song lessons with the artist, Nairobi, June- August
2001 Email communication with artist, 31 January
2004a Interview with artist, Nairobi, 28 August
2004b Interview with artist, Nairobi, 29 August
2004c Interview with artist, Nairobi, 12 September
2006 Email communication with artist, 20 February
Kamau, Gathecha 2004 Interview with country coordinator for Youth Employment Summit Campaign Kenya, Nairobi, 4 May
Ochango, Abil 2004a Interview with artist, Nairobi, 10 August
2004b Interview with artist, Nairobi, 1 September
Wanda, Stella 2004 Interview with artist, Nairobi, 14 September
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Published
2009-11-30
How to Cite
Noss-Van Buren, Kathleen J. 2009. “Locating Hope in Performance: Lessons from Edward Kabuye”. African Music : Journal of the International Library of African Music 8 (3):144-61. https://doi.org/10.21504/amj.v8i3.1833.
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