Sukuma Labor Songs from Western Tanzania African Sources for African History
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Sukuma Labor Songs from Western Tanzania African Sources for African History Editorial Board Dmitri van den Bersselaar, University of Liverpool Michel Doortmont, University of Groningen Jan Jansen, University of Leiden Advisory Board Ralph A. Austen, University of Chicago, USA Wim van Binsbergen, Africa Studies Centre Leiden, Netherlands Karin Barber, Africa Studies Centre Birmingham, UK Andreas Eckert, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany John H. Hanson, Indiana University David Henige, University of Madison, USA Eisei Kurimoto, Osaka University, Japan J. Matthieu Schoffeleers, University of Leiden, Netherlands VOLUME 11 Sukuma Labor Songs from Western Tanzania ‘We Never Sleep, We Dream of Farming’ By Frank Gunderson LEIDEN • BOSTON 2010 Cover illustration: Bugobogobo by Donald M. Mpanda, 1980. Permission by the artist. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data Gunderson, Frank D. Sukuma labor songs from Western Tanzania : we never sleep, we dream of farming / by Frank Gunderson. p. cm. — (African sources for African history, ISSN 1567-6951 ; v. 11) Texts of labor songs with translation into English, musical transcriptions, and commentary. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-18468-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Work songs—Tanzania—History and criticism. 2. Work songs—Tanzania— Texts. 3. Folk songs, Sukuma—Tanzania—History and criticism. 4. Folk songs, Swahili—Tanzania—History and criticism. 5. Sukuma (African people)—Music— History and criticism. I. Title. II. Series. ML3760.G86 2010 782.42’159309678—dc22 2010015729 ISSN 1567-6951 ISBN 978 90 04 18468 8 Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands CONTENTS Editors’ Introduction ......................................................................... ix Acknowledgments .............................................................................. xiii List of Illustrations ............................................................................ xv List of Figures and Maps .................................................................. xvii Key to Abbreviations and Symbols ................................................ xix Notes on Orthography, Translation and Transliteration ........... xxi Key to Sukuma Musical Labor Genres .......................................... xxv Village Locator Chart and Area Maps ........................................... xxix Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 Scope of the Project ...................................................................... 1 Organization and Nature of the Collection .............................. 4 From Work Song to Musical Labor ........................................... 7 Sukuma Song Texts as Sources for History .............................. 13 The History of Sukuma Nganda (Clans) ................................... 15 Sukuma Competitive Performance, Music Aesthetics, and Form ............................................................................................ 18 I. Songs of the Bayeye (Snake Hunters) and the Banuunguli (Porcupine Hunters) ................................................................ 25 II. Songs of the Bayege (Elephant Hunters) .............................. 73 III. Songs of the Baja Nyalaja (Lake Eyasi Salt Caravaners) ... 112 IV. Songs of the Bapagati (Long-Distance Porters) .................. 121 V. Songs of the Balugu (Warriors) and Barugaruga (Mercenaries) ............................................................................ 136 VI. Songs of the Askaris (Conscripted Soldiers) ........................ 152 VII. Songs of Reciprocal Village Labor ......................................... 171 vi contents VIII. Songs of the Bagobogobo (‘Skin Wearers’) and Bakomyaluume (‘Dew Steppers’) Competitive Farming Associations ............................................................................. 226 IX. Songs of the Bagobogobo in Praise of the Hoe .................. 264 X. Songs of Balimi (Farmers) Concerning Disease, Drought, and Famine ............................................................. 300 XI. Songs of Nationalist Praise for TANU, Julius Nyerere, and Uhuru ................................................................................ 332 XII. Songs of Political Discourse during the Ujamaa Epoch (1967–1985) ............................................................................. 354 XIII. Songs Concerning the War against Idi Amin .................... 395 XIV. Songs of Praise for the CCM since Julius Nyerere’s Presidency (1985–1995) ......................................................... 406 XV. Songs of the Basungusungu (Village Vigilante Associations) ............................................................................ 435 Concluding Remarks: The Fluidity of Sukuma Musical Labor Genres ............................................................................................. 453 Appendices I. Glossary of Sukuma Music-Related Terms ....................... 455 II. Sukuma Aphorisms Related to Music and Labor ............ 470 III. Significant Events in Sukuma History ................................ 473 IV. List of Interviews Cited ......................................................... 476 V. Extended Oral Biographies of Select Commentators ....... 481 Bibliographic Sources ........................................................................ 487 Indices Song Title (First Line) Index ....................................................... 497 Kisukuma Titles ........................................................................ 497 English Titles ............................................................................. 503 contents vii Singer Index ................................................................................... 511 Teacher and Composer Index ..................................................... 513 Thematic and Topical Keyword Index ...................................... 514 Personal Name Index ................................................................... 519 Geographical Index ....................................................................... 524 Genre Index .................................................................................... 526 Time Period Index ........................................................................ 527 Region Collected Index ................................................................ 529 Collector Index .............................................................................. 530 Recording Index ............................................................................ 531 Author Index ...................................................................................... 534 EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION Sukuma Labor Songs from Western Tanzania is an important collec- tion of song texts which deepens our understanding of labor experi- ences and labor conditions in nineteenth and twentieth-century East Africa. It will be of great use for the study of the cultural and social dynamics of agriculture and village life, two issues that have been at the focus of development schedules and ideologies by both colonial and postcolonial governments. Gunderson’s collection in the African Sources for African History series proves that the labor song should not be valued only for its musical and literary content, but also as a vital source for social history, in East Africa and beyond (see Vail and White 1991). Frank Gunderson has produced a monumental bilingual text edition in which he covers an entire available body of sources. The publication of this collection of Sukuma labor songs is a complex, but intellec- tually rewarding way of representing this field of research in a stan- dardized academic format (the genre of the source publication). Apart from dealing with issues of transcription and translation, it required a critical way of standardizing the sources—both field recordings and the sources produced by others—into accessible and readable texts, without losing the unique character of the songs. Next to stamina, it required a sensitivity and understanding of expertise stemming from a wide range of academic disciplines. The editors would like to emphasize the enormous amount of field- work and archival work that is at the basis of this project. The Sukuma songs in this book were collected, in written or audio format, from libraries and archives in many locations, and with local experts in dif- ferent villages. It demands much patience and many hours of inter- viewing of and discussion with informants, as well as with interpreters, to grasp the meanings and functions of particular songs. The riches of the comments Frank Gunderson was able to add to his song texts stem from this intensive field work, and could not have been possible