COOL STUFF!

Cool Stuff (Native American and African Culture Music)

AFRICA

            I know we talked about more of Sub-Saharan Africa, but I have some interesting information from a country called Ethiopia in the “horn” of Africa. The horn is located in the Eastern part of the continent and Ethiopia is landlocked.  The reason this country is so interesting to me is that my two cousins, Elizabeth and Katie, were adopted by my aunt and uncle from Ethiopia when they were four and six years old. When they got to America they did not know a single word of English. When we would communicate with them they always were shy and timid but they always seemed to be singing. Eventually, when they were comfortable with us as their new family they would sing to us all the time. As they would sing they would use anything around them to create sound. Since we studied African culture’s music I did more research on Ethiopian music because of my cousins’ connections to the culture as children.

            I researched music in Ethiopia and found a website that explains how instruments in Ethiopian culture is very important. The most widely used instruments are the masinko, krar, washint, begena, kebero, and the tom-tom. The masinko is one of the more popular instruments and it is made up of single strings. This instrument may look simple but it can create many melodies and is used in many places all around Ethiopia. Here’s a video to show you how the masinko is played…

NATIVE AMERICAN

            I’ve always been interested in the Native American culture and have found many things to be “cool” while learning more about their culture. I became interested in modern-day music from Native Americans. I found a group called Pamyua which is a group of ingenious people. The group believes unity is created through music and dance that is what they try to do when they tour, they created what is called "tribal-funk."

            This song by Pamyoua is very relaxing. The song is sung in Yupik and when the lyrics are translated the song is talking about worshiping the ocean, which is very relevant today. 

           Another interesting thing I found about the Native culture is music that involves children. As I researched I found the "Powwow song." It is a Thanksgiving song that children are taught when learning about the calendar. The drumbeat in this song is proven to make children feel calm and focused. This song brings children together to learn about the Native American culture and about the specifics in their music.