photo: Miriam Makeba; from sahistory.org.za, a website and archive for the peoples’ histories of South Africa
by Asa Nowers
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This paper aims to explore the significance of music during colonialisation in Africa and the consequential liberation movements. We shall be considering the history of colonialisation and, with the use of three highly influential pieces of literature, we will analyse the story of music in amongst the oppression and struggle. This paper identifies three characteristics of music which it deems integral to its ability to provoke happiness and togetherness. These three characteristics are as follows; its invincible nature, its tendency for collaboration, and its capacity to share messages. These aspects of music are the foundation for its success in terms of encouraging strength and unity in highly oppressed communities.
An Introduction
Historical Context and Key Terms
The Significance of Music: Decolonising the Mind; The Invention of Africa; Amandla
A Lack of Exposure
Conclusion
An Introduction
Anyone with an interest in music should have the desire to explore its context, and be driven to respond appropriately to its trials and tribulations. The sound’s, rhythm’s, and different tempo’s which we are exposed to daily, have musical ancestors which have are often overlooked by the mainstream. Said ancestors reflect oppression, struggle, and liberation; particularly if we focus on the colonialisation of Africa. This paper shall explore the music, and its effects, birthed out of colonialisation. It shall make use of specific examples and considerately collaborate with existing literature on the subject to form a well-rounded piece of work aiming to shed light on an often-unknown history. The structure of this paper will be as such: firstly, we shall explore the historical context of the subject. We shall describe colonialisation, as period in history and attempt to define all relevant terms; this will establish a foundation from which the rest of the paper will be built. Secondly, we shall briefly discuss the importance of music for the subjects of colonialisation; those that were invaded and oppressed. The characteristic of music shall be separated into three aspects, its invincible nature, its promotion of collaboration, and its ease in spreading a message. This section won’t include examples, instead it will begin the line of assessment for the following sections to continue with. Next this paper will interact with several pieces of work with the aim to weave amongst the content and expose the significance of Music with regards to colonialisation and liberation. These works will include, “Decolonising the Mind”, authored by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o[1], “The Invention of Africa”, authored by V. Y. Mudimbe[2], and the documentary film, “Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony”, produced by Sherry Simpson Dean, Desiree Markgraaf and Lee Hirsch[3]. These highly influential informational compositions deal with themes from the liberation music itself, to the exploration of retrospective attitudes and how best to respond to the oppression in a post-colonial world; particularly significant to those who have unwittingly benefitted from the struggles of its victims.
This paper argues that the beautiful history of music, particularly when related to atrocities oppressors would prefer were forgotten, is often overlooked. In a world with an arguably disposable, unarguably billion-dollar, music industry, it is important that we consume our music sensibly, history-aware and with a sophisticated respect. This paper acknowledges the ease in avoiding the unpleasant exploitative truth due to its almost offensive lack of exposure in the mainstream; but it encourages its readers to open their minds and explore.
Historical Context and Key Terms
To begin we must cover some of the key terms which this paper will use frequently. Most importantly, Colonialism, or Colonialisation. The author Mudimbe writes, “colonialism and colonization basically mean organization, arrangement.”[4] For this project, this paper intends to avoid the term ‘Colonisation’ as that is often used to refer to settler colonies, trading posts and plantations. While these are important for a different field of study, this paper intends to refer to the lives and struggles during the same period; not the historical actualities as these seem to detract from the weight of the oppression and invasion. The aim is that colonialism, and colonialisation are wider categories than ‘colonisation’ and when used in this paper they include a careful respect for the victims which we suggest ‘colonisation’ does not; this word is often used in western education systems to describe the implementation of democracy, and other relative benefits, onto the subjects of colonialism, something this paper avoids and in fact argues is harmful to the histories of those who lost their livelihoods, if not lives at the behest of empire seeking external powers.
The oppression and exploitation of Africa can be found weaved throughout most of recorded history; as far back as ancient times. While there is no amount of “past” which is more important than any other, this paper, when writing colonialism or the colonialisation of Africa, refers to European colonialism; that is the conquest(s) of Europe into Africa during the 19th Century[5]. This European expansion directly affected much of the world and some would argue has scarred the future prosperity of its victims; in the very least it has shaped the lives of those who were subject to it. If we observe the current situation in Africa we see in nearly all the countries that their predominant language, used by the governments and the media, is one which has been brought and implemented by European colonisers[6]. Said African countries have unavoidably inherited key societal characteristics, often at the expense of their own native, cultural versions; it is Music, in amongst this web of lost identities, which this paper will discuss.
The official division of Africa, which we will focus on, happened between 1881 and 1914[7]; often referred to as the “Scramble for Africa”. This period reflected a “New Imperialism” which was characterised the colonial expansion of Europe, The United States, and Japan who sought to build empires and develop their civilisations with the resources and land of those they colonised; often Africa, Asia, and Latin America. During colonialisation, the world’s most powerful countries pursued as many oversea territorial acquisitions as possible to grow their empires, with the aim of being the biggest; and as mentioned, the effects of this are still noticeable today. The “Scramble for Africa”, and the subsequent partitioning that went on was how the Europeans avoided wars amongst themselves[8]. This shows the type of attitude held by those that colonised, who preferred the invasion and occupation of a vulnerable part of the world over war between them. The global south was merely a subject to be used by the most powerful in pursuit of hegemony; from using the land to present a large empire to other powers, up to the resources and labour of the natives used to develop European interests.
The Significance of Music
Now there is some understanding regarding colonialisation, its history and its definition, we shall now look more specifically at music. Firstly, let us acknowledge that music is a ‘cultural production’. As written by Caleb Dube in his book, “THE CHANGING CONTEXT OF AFRICAN MUSIC PERFORMANCE IN ZIMBABWE”, ‘cultural production’ refers to “the conscious creation of cultural or artistic services and goods for both purely aesthetic and personal purposes”[9] This is an important point as it understands music how it should be understood, a conscious composition. From this, we can assume that music tends to reflect the situation in which it was made. Music isn’t arbitrary; thus, its messages and pursuits are real and significant in assessing struggle.
In the following section we shall split the importance of music into three categories; all of which overlap. The first is music’s invincible nature, the nature exclusive to music and other creative expressions to be enjoyed and distributed as they wish; regardless of exterior forces. The second is music’s ability in encouraging collaboration, through writing and performance, music leads to shared experiences through shared contexts; and, the third is the power of music to convey a message. As the previous section has made clear, the resulting situation after the Scramble for Africa was one in which mainly European colonisers occupied much of Africa. In 1870, 10% of the continent of Africa was under European Control, by 1914 this percentage had increased to almost 90%. In fact, the only countries which remained independent were Liberia, modern-day Ethiopia, and modern-day Somalia. Colonisers attempted to be in control of all the facets the land they occupied had to offer, including industries, governments, and churches. As mentioned, Colonialisation shaped the institutions of the victim’s counties, both formal and informal, from language to cultural conventions. The one thing which couldn’t be taken by the oppressors was music; given its importance and its conscious nature, it was a significant power which was out of the reach of the European Imperialists. This is a display of music’s invincible trait.
One role played by music in these struggles was to carry the victims through their awful treatment and through liberation battles. During colonialisation, natives were forced out of their homes and in cases separated from their families. This coercion would be met with resistance; however, the colonisers strength and military presence would often prevail leading to a situation in which the natives would be controlled completely. In these seemingly hopeless times, those fighting against invasion would turn to music giving them “the strength and reason to go on”[10]. The ability to write a song which would directly confront the problem and express the grief was helpful through its melodies and lyrics, on top of this, the ability to perform said songs with others who shared the same struggles and mutual enemies encouraged a sense of unity and perhaps it satisfied the natives stolen ability of resistance; as mentioned, creativity through music was one of a few aspects of life which couldn’t truly be controlled by the colonisers. This describes the aspect of collaboration, music symbolises the importance of community and in the case for the victims of colonialisation it seemed therapeutic and empowering to share the struggle.
A further point, which we have briefly surfaced, is the importance of being able to share a message through lyrics. If we consider the different languages spoken by the colonisers to those that were colonised, we can assume the existence of a creative space owned by the natives and out of the control of those that invaded. This space, between the languages spoken by both parties, would have been useful sharing messages and educating those who perhaps didn’t share the same knowledge, or pursuit. Like today, though some may say a majority of the current music industry consists of watered-down hits made with the sole intention to profit, songs carry messages; thus, are open to interpretation. Music can be, and was, used to repeat messages, spread news, and gather support for a cause. In summary for this section, it has been made clear that music was one sphere which the colonisers could not suppress. In fact, music and singing was one of a few ways in which the oppressed could hold their power as they couldn’t be silenced. The spirit and unity bolstered by writing songs and singing them as a community was very important during times of subjugation and, as the following sections of this paper will suggest, extremely helpful in spreading messages during liberation.
De-Colonising the Mind
In this section, we shall explore the work of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. “Decolonising The Mind”[11], is an essay on language and how it portrays the culture of its users. According to Ngũgĩ, language is more than just the means of communication it is the essence of our being[12]. Thus, it follows that, with the Anglicisation of Africa, the core of what it means to be African was jeopardised. Ngũgĩ talks about the impact that colonialisation had on art; including music. He describes his situation in that all aspects of his life were surprised and rapidly replaced with alternatives in the English language. Through this process, art was disposed of or lost inadvertently, with the purpose of bolstering imperialism. Ngũgĩ writes,
“Imperialism disrupts the entire fabric of the lives of its victims: in particular their culture, making them ashamed of their names, history, systems of belief, languages, lore, art dance, song, sculpture, even the colour of their skin. It thwarts all its victims’ forms and means of survival, and furthermore it employs racism.”[13]
This quote is important, it expresses Ngũgĩ’s perspective on colonialisation through his opinion of imperialism. This corroborates what we have surfaced in this essay already which is the struggle enforced upon those who were colonised, and how this struggle translated into abolishing existing cultural manifestations; art. As we continue into the following section we will see V. Y. Mudimbe’s take on the method of colonialisation.
The Invention of Africa
Another crucial piece of work which lends analysis to the subject is “The Invention of Africa” While there is no content specific to music and its impact, the author Mudimbe talks about how colonialists “have all tended to organize and transform non-European areas into fundamentally European constructs.”[14] While this may seem obvious and notions of this have surfaced in this essay, Mudimbe elaborates on the method. This paper considers music as one of the cornerstones of culture thus rendering Mudimbe’s perspective particularly important.
This book discusses how different parts of the natives’ lives were acquired, distributed, and exploited. He suggests there are three “complementary hypotheses”[15] which help describe the method, or process, used to colonise. First, those that colonised needed to dominate a physical space; second, they needed to reform the minds of the natives; and third, they needed to integrate local economic histories into the “Western perspective”[16]. Mudimbe calls these three hypotheses “the colonizing structure”[17] as argues that these three approaches can be used as a framework when exploring the colonialisation. His work is influential as it provides a useful foundation for analysis; helpful for both retrospective and future research.
For the case of this essay, we can follow the line of Mudimbe’s work and apply it to the appropriation of music. It is true that we have identified music as invincible and while we stick by this, we must make use of Mudimbe’s work. The lives, necessarily including music, of the oppressed were completely altered. If we assume, which we have, that music reflects the lives of those that create it then we must conclude that music was in the pool of dynamics which colonialism affected; detrimentally. Having said this, this paper would persist in arguing that creative outputs are the most resilient to change, especially for the case of music. Mudimbe’s work is a perfect lens through which to be post-colonial, thus is helpful when conducting any research into any aspect of the subject; even with the case for music, The Invention of Africa, exists as unavoidable literature.
Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony
The final piece of work which this essay has found incredibly influential is the documentary film, “Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony”, produced by Sherry Simpson Dean, Desiree Markgraaf and Lee Hirsch[18]. This film covers the story of music during the liberation struggle in South Africa. Especially for the subject of this paper, this documentary film is very important as it presents its audience with the story of music, during Apartheid, for the black South Africans. It confirms what we have already discussed in this paper that music was used to encourage unity and drive positive vibes through times which were forcibly negative. The project follows South African creatives as they discuss the struggle against apartheid. Through their stories the important role that music played becomes apparent. An example of this is the discussion of “Meadowlands” which was a song written in response to the destruction of thriving black communities. Apartheid mandated said destruction and the consequent relocation of the black communities to government-run townships; one of the first of these townships was called Meadowlands, hence the song.
Amandla presents its watchers with evidence that music had profound effects on the morale’s and community spirit of those fighting for liberation in South Africa. Much like we have discussed, music tends to be invincible, encourage collaboration, and effectively share messages; all three of which were themes of this documentary film. Vuyisile Mini, a South African political activist, singer-songwriter wrote, “Watchout Verwoerd”, a song about the farther of apartheid, Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. This song brought people strength and happiness, it brought people together and through singing they took the power away from the oppressors; “Music was part of liberating ourselves.”
Conclusion
To conclude, the weight of this paper expresses the key importance of music during times of struggle; in our case during liberation movements and oppression in Africa. Music can be identified as invincible, in the sense it cannot be taken from its creators through oppression. Faced with a situation in which your lives are being dismantled in front of your eyes, creativity seemed like the only outlet for expression and joy. Colonisers relocated communities, stole resources, and enforced gargantuan cultural shifts but they couldn’t take the ability to sing and create music away from the natives. We also identified music as encouraging collaboration. Livelihoods and careers were shattered by forced anglicisation and reformation of traditions and culture. Community and collaboration were important methods in deriving happiness in such tired times, sharing experiences and encouraging unity and power through music became one of the only outlets available to those being oppressed. Finally, we suggested music was a means to sharing messages. Being able to directly confront the atrocities forced upon them was significant and sharing opinions and strife further encouraged unison and strength which was needed to spur on retaliation; without music, expression would have been completely prevented. One of the reoccurring themes of this paper is that creativity was really the only untouchable influence African natives held which is why we consider it integral to happiness and perhaps even survival at times; this project recommends further research into the lack of exposure of this truth. Additionally, research into how colonial music affected the evolution of what we consider mainstream music today would be very interesting. A specific project into the nature of song writing and song production because of its past struggle may lend an insight into the development of music and the significance of its history.
Bibliography
Cook, D., & Okenimkpe, M. (1998). Ngugi wa Thiong’o: An Exploration of His Writings. Modern African Studies, 36(3),
Correspondent, B., Reporter, P., Correspondent, H., Correspondent, W., Reporter, S., & O. (2017, October 26). Importance of music in struggle for independence. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from http://manicapost.co.zw/importance-of-music-in-struggle-for-independence/
Dube, C. (1995). “Changing Context of Africa Music Performance in Africa. Zambezia XXIII, 99-120. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
Johnston, H. H. (2013). History of the colonization of africa by alien races. Place of publication not identified: Hardpress Ltd.
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Mudimbe, V. Y. (2011). The invention of Africa: gnosis, philosophy, and the order of knowledge. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Rhodes, W. (1959). Changing times. African Music: Journal of the African Music Society, 2(2), 6-9. doi:10.21504/amj.v2i2.581
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Scott, A. O. (2003, February 19). FILM REVIEW; The Sounds and Rhythms That Helped Bring Down Apartheid. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D06E2D61F3AF93AA25751C0A9659C8B63&mcubz=3
Thiongo, N. W. (1998). Decolonising the Mind. Diogenes, 46(184), 101-104. doi:10.1177/039219219804618409
[1] Thiongo, N. W. (1998). Decolonising the Mind. Diogenes, 46(184), 101-104. doi:10.1177/039219219804618409
[2] Mudimbe, V. Y. (2011). The invention of Africa: gnosis, philosophy, and the order of knowledge. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
[3] Scott, A. O. (2003, February 19). FILM REVIEW; The Sounds and Rhythms That Helped Bring Down Apartheid. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D06E2D61F3AF93AA25751C0A9659C8B63&mcubz=3
[4] Mudimbe, V. Y. (2011). The invention of Africa: gnosis, philosophy, and the order of knowledge. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Page 2.
[5] Louis, W. R. (2006). Ends of British imperialism: the scramble for empire, Suez, and decolonization. New York, NY: I. B. Tauris. Page 910.
[6] Johnston, H. H. (2013). History of the colonization of africa by alien races. Place of publication not identified: Hardpress Ltd
[7] Ibid.
[8] Robinson, R., Denny, A., & Gallagher, J. (2015). Africa and the Victorians: the climax of imperialism and the Dark continent
[9] Dube, C. (1995). “Changing Context of Africa Music Performance in Africa. Zambezia XXIII, 99-120. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
[10] Correspondent, B., Reporter, P., Correspondent, H., Correspondent, W., Reporter, S., & O. (2017, October 26). Importance of music in struggle for independence. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from http://manicapost.co.zw/importance-of-music-in-struggle-for-independence/
[11] Thiongo, N. W. (1998). Decolonising the Mind. Diogenes, 46(184), 101-104. doi:10.1177/039219219804618409
[12] Lovesey, O. (2012). Approaches to Teaching the Works of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o . New York: The Modern Language Association of America. Page 11.
[13] Cook, D., & Okenimkpe, M. (1998). Ngugi wa Thiong’o: An Exploration of His Writings. Modern African Studies, 36(3), Pages 215-217
[14] Mudimbe, V. Y. (2011). The invention of Africa: gnosis, philosophy, and the order of knowledge. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Page 1.
[15] Ibid. Page 2.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Scott, A. O. (2003, February 19). FILM REVIEW; The Sounds and Rhythms That Helped Bring Down Apartheid. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D06E2D61F3AF93AA25751C0A9659C8B63&mcubz=3