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THE RECONTEXTUALIZATION OF AFRICAN MUSIC IN THE UNITED STATES: A CASE STUDY OF UMOJA AFRICAN ARTS COMPANY by Anicet Mudimbenga Mundundu BA, Université Nationale du Zaire, 1981 MA, University of Pittsburgh, 1995 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2005 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Anicet Mudimbenga Mundundu It was defended on 18 April, 2005 and approved by Dr. Nathan T. Davis, Ph.D., Professor of Music Dissertation Co-Chair Dr. Akin O. Euba, Ph.D., Professor of Music Dr. Matthew Rosenblum, Ph.D., Professor of Music Professor (Emeritus) J. H. Kwabena Nketia, Professor of Music Dissertation Co-Chair ii © Anicet M. Mundundu 2005 iii THE RECONTEXTUALIZATION OF AFRICAN MUSIC IN THE UNITED STATES: A CASE STUDY OF UMOJA AFRICAN ARTS COMPANY Anicet M. Mundundu, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2005 This dissertation is about the opportunities and challenges posed by the presentation and interpretation of African music performances by African immigrants in Western contexts in general and the United States in particular. The study focuses on the experience of the Umoja African Arts Company, a Pittsburgh based repertory dance ensemble that performs music and dance from various parts of Africa. Although much has been observed on the contribution of Africa to the development of the American music and dance experience, there is a growing interest among African scholars to question the relevance, impact and the analysis of the emerging efforts of new African immigrants in the promotion of African music in changing contexts overseas where creative individuals have to reconfigure new ways of interpreting and presenting cultural resources to diverse audiences. Therefore, this study on the recontextualization of African music in America investigates not only the rationale and the justification for the creation of African performing groups such as Umoja, but also the choices in performance practice in light of their knowledge and understanding of the norms of African traditions as well as the manner in which they transcend the boundaries of ethnicity in their presentation. The study recognizes the factors and historical antecedents that make the creation, the maintenance, and the success of professional African performing troupes such as Umoja in the United States possible, in particular the role of colleges and universities in the teaching and iv appreciation of African music, the influx over the past decades of Africans from various countries supplying performers capable of forming music and dance repertory groups, and the growing interest of Americans in what is commonly referred to as World Music that engages audiences to experiment with new sounds and aesthetics. Naturally, the creation and development of Umoja was built on a legacy of the Pittsburgh’s experience in the promotion of music diversity, the contribution of the African American and other African communities to the cultural life of the city, as well as the financial and administrative support systems provided by the State of Pennsylvania to advance multiculturalism in education and community development. The strategies adopted by Umoja were inspired not only by the realities of the United States environment or its cultural milieu but also by the previous experience of the founders in Africa itself where performance practice in African cities are shaped by the creative response to the need of diverse audiences and lifestyles. The main difference between the recontextualization of African music in Africa and what takes place outside the continent lies in the frames of reference that are adopted, including the shared understanding of processes and means through which the music making experience remains relevant and acceptable to the vast majority. In America, the audiences of African music are more concerned with the attributes rather than the contexts within which the music was originally created or performed whereas those in Africa may be reminded of its contexts and other associations. However, both Africans and Americans are interested in issues of authority, authenticity and meanings even though contexts are dynamic. They change in light of new events and circumstances that lead creative individuals to make contextual adaptations to their music based on the vision and direction to be pursued. v On the same basis, the study reviews the historical antecedents of Umoja, beginning with the early presence and its transformative role documented by historians of African American music, the movement toward close integration of ancestral African music and dance forms and contemporary forms by leading African American dancers and choreographers such as Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus, the contribution of African master drummers, choreographers and their dance groups such as Efrom Odok’s Calabar Dancers, Momudu Johnson’s Dance Company, Asadata Dafora’s Shogola Oloba Company, and Babatunde Olatunji’s Company. The study continues with a discussion of Umoja’s formative period, when its founders awoke their African cultural awareness in response to the limited knowledge about African culture they found in the city of Pittsburgh. It describes the company from its humble beginning to its establishment as the premiere African music and dance troupe in the city of Pittsburgh. Umoja’s repertoire consisting of music and dance pieces from various parts of Africa is discussed with reference to new contexts of creativity. The study also reviews the African aesthetic values of musical instruments and costumes used in pefomances and Umoja’s influence on the city of Pittsburgh’s artistic scene. The question of authenticity is raised while examining factors that account for the success and consolidation of the company. After reviewing Umoja’s achievements, the study deals with Umoja as a model in creating, establishing and maintaining Repertory troupes of African music and dance in the new contexts, not only in the West, especially in the United States, but also in Africa where similar troupes are created. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE..................................................................................................................................... xii 1. CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..................................................................................... 1 1.1. AIMS AND SCOPE OF STUDY................................................................................... 1 1.1.1. Causative Factors for Recontextualization of Music.............................................. 4 1.1.2. Historical Precedents .............................................................................................. 6 1.1.2.1. Precedents in Africa........................................................................................ 6 1.1.2.2. Precedents in the United States....................................................................... 9 1.1.2.3. Type of Music............................................................................................... 12 1.2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK................................................................................ 16 1.2.1. Definition of Recontextualization......................................................................... 16 1.3. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................... 21 1.4. RELATED LITERATURE........................................................................................... 22 2. CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS OF UMOJA AFRICAN ARTS COMPANY................................................................................................................................... 33 2.1. THE EARLY PERIOD................................................................................................. 33 2.2. THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD ............................................................................. 35 2.3. TOURING PROFESSIONAL AFRICAN DANCE TROUPES .................................. 40 2.4. THE FORMATION OF AFRICAN MUSIC AND DANCE TROUPES IN PITTSBURGH.......................................................................................................................... 44 3. CHAPTER THREE: UMOJA AFRICAN ARTS COMPANY: FORMATIVE YEARS .... 56 3.1. GEVAKIN CHOIR....................................................................................................... 57 3.2. FORMATION OF CONGOLESE COMMUNITY IN PITTSBURGH....................... 63 3.3. BACKGROUND OF THE FOUNDERS OF UMOJA ................................................ 68 3.3.1. Damien Mandondo Pwono ................................................................................... 68 3.3.2. Gaby Lungu Muzela ............................................................................................. 69 3.3.3. Elie Lunkeba Kihonia ........................................................................................... 71 3.4. SHARED COMMON CONGOLESE HERITAGE ..................................................... 72 3.5. RECRUITMENT OF PERFORMERS......................................................................... 74 3.5.1. Phase 1: The Early Period..................................................................................... 74 3.5.2. Phase 2: The Second Period.................................................................................. 83 3.5.3. Phase 3: The Inclusion of the group