Égwú Ŕmŕlŕ: Women in Traditional Performing
ÉGWÚ ÀMÀLÀ: WOMEN IN TRADITIONAL PERFORMING ARTS IN OGBARULAND by Marie Agatha Ozah B.A., Pontificio Istituto Di Musica Sacra, 1993 L.M., Pontificio Istituto Di Musica Sacra, 1994 M.A., Pontificio Istituto Di Musica Sacra, 1997 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2008 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Marie Agatha Ozah It was defended on March 21, 2008 and approved by Dr. Mary S. Lewis, PhD, Professor of Music Dr. Nathan T. Davis, PhD, Professor of Music Dr. Leonard Plotnicov, PhD, Professor of Anthropology Dissertation Co-Chair: Dr. Kofi V. Agawu, PhD, Professor of Music Dissertation Chair: Dr. Olatunji Akin Euba, PhD, Andrew Mellon Professor of Music ii © Marie Agatha Ozah 2008 iii ÉGWÚ ÀMÀLÀ: WOMEN IN TRADITIONAL PERFORMING ARTS IN OGBARULAND Marie Agatha Ozah, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2008 Within the complex dynamics of gender relationships and roles among African peoples, women often exercise power through song and dance. Such is the case among the women of Ogbaruland in southern Nigeria who, in their performance of the dance drama Égwú Àmàlà, act as custodians of knowledge and tradition and as transmitters of culture. Apart from being a repository of information about artistic traditions, the genre also documents and enacts the history and culture of the Ogbaru people. Égwú Àmàlà, which is the subject of my dissertation, is the most popular of all Ogbaru women dance genres. The term Égwú Àmàlà literally means “paddle dance” or “paddle drama,” but it is often referred to as the “mermaid dance” or égwú mmili, that is, “water dance” because of its ritualistic associations with Onye-mmili, the water divinity.
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