In doing this musick
around the world thing, I would be more than remiss if I didn’t post this sacred slab
of magickal musick here. I may be many things, but I’m no miss, re- or
otherwise. Not gonna skip this.
Making music is the most
primeval form of human expression, imbued with a mystical power to communicate
at an instinctual level that transcends language & speaks directly to the
soul. The San
Bushmen, the indigenous people of the southern African region are Africa's
oldest inhabitants, having lived in the region for approximately twenty-five
thousand years. For them, music & dance are not merely creative
expressions, but an integral part of their being.
This project started in
the Kalahari desert in 1995. The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid
sandy savannah in southern Africa extending 350,000 square miles, covering
much of Namibia.
This project was initiated by Pops Mohamed, a musician renowned for his
dedication to protect & preserve the indigenous music from his homeland. Pops
had been trying to find original recordings of the Bushmen music for many
years. In 1995 he organized an expedition to the Kalahari to record the music of
Africa's oldest inhabitants. The San involved
in this project come from an area of Namibia
called the Omaheke Region, bordering with Botswana.
!Gubi Tietei, tribal
elder & traditional healer, along with his family, hosted the expedition. An essential element of
the San cultural identity is their medicine dance & music, in which they
use rhythm to heal both the individual & the collective. The medicine men
have a supernatural potency within them called n/um that enables them to cure
sickness. To activate this substance they dance & sing, creating sounds
& a tempo that heats the n/um, causing it to rise up to their head. This evokes
trance. This family of
San still practice a trance-dance that goes back to the first memories of their
culture, making this the oldest form of trance music in the world. The
collection of songs is an integral part of a San family, their culture & worldview.
Enchanting & hypnotic, these include expressions of celebration, the
recalling of memories, humor, & healing.
This dance is the oldest
form of meditation & enables participants to contact their ancestors by entering a state of
!kia (trance). This spiritual state is accessible to all. It is an integral
part of their lives, bringing the whole community together. !kia is to go into
unconsciousness ('half death'), letting go of the spirit in order to commune
with Gauwa (God). Tragically, after decades of systematic marginalization &
dislocation, the modern world threatens these ancient people, their culture as
hunter-gatherers, & their strange, beautiful music.
These songs were captured
with a portable DAT using a Soundfield microphone. The music gathered provided the base for Pops' album How Far Have We Come, but also led to this
raw, undiluted piece of art.
Various - Pops MohamedPresents Bushmen of the Kalahari, MELT 2000 BW2128, 2001.
decryption code in comments
Tracklist –
Xan Do Do (God Help Us)
- Anna Goute/Angelic Goute/Marcella !Ngube
Nxa! (Sound Of The Wild Dog) - Anna Goute/!Ngubi Goute
Nxa! (Version 2) - Anna Goute/!Ngubi Goute
Nxa! (Version 3) - Anna Goute/!Ngubi Goute
I Wish To Be A Lucky Hunter - !Ngube Goute
Hungry Man - !Ngubi Goute
Thula, Thula Thule! (Bump Me So That I Can Bump You) - Bakgalagadi Cultural Group/Sarafina Ditshabue
Chameleon - Angelic Goute/Marcella !Ngube
Lekker Ding, Lekker Daar! (Nice Thing, Nice Day) - Angelic Goute/Marcella !Ngube
A Trance Song - Angelic Goute/Marcella !Ngube Listen Listen
Heta! (Chorus Line) - Bakgalagadi Cultural Group/Sarafina Ditshabue
The Great Hunt - !Ngube Goute
!Kung - !Ngube Goute
Sad Song - !Ngube Goute
Honey Song - !Ngube Goute
The Cursed Woman - !Ngube Goute
Looking Back - !Ngube Goute
Nxa! (Sound Of The Wild Dog) - Anna Goute/!Ngubi Goute
Nxa! (Version 2) - Anna Goute/!Ngubi Goute
Nxa! (Version 3) - Anna Goute/!Ngubi Goute
I Wish To Be A Lucky Hunter - !Ngube Goute
Hungry Man - !Ngubi Goute
Thula, Thula Thule! (Bump Me So That I Can Bump You) - Bakgalagadi Cultural Group/Sarafina Ditshabue
Chameleon - Angelic Goute/Marcella !Ngube
Lekker Ding, Lekker Daar! (Nice Thing, Nice Day) - Angelic Goute/Marcella !Ngube
A Trance Song - Angelic Goute/Marcella !Ngube Listen Listen
Heta! (Chorus Line) - Bakgalagadi Cultural Group/Sarafina Ditshabue
The Great Hunt - !Ngube Goute
!Kung - !Ngube Goute
Sad Song - !Ngube Goute
Honey Song - !Ngube Goute
The Cursed Woman - !Ngube Goute
Looking Back - !Ngube Goute
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ReplyDeleteSweet. Thanks!
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