Cool Stuff no.1 - The Influence of Native Americans on Pop Culture, African Drum Language, and Polyphonic Pygmy Music

In today’s culture, there is a fine line between appreciation and appropriation. In class, we learned about how indidgenous communities were whitewashed and had bits and pieces of their culture taken away.  In the nineteenth century, Native Americans were discriminated against because of their clothing, traditions, and language. During the psychedelic era, Native American styles became part of hippie fashion. When Jimi Hendrix wore fringe and beads, fans saw it as trendy, not something Native Americans wear to honor their ancestors.  Going into the punk era, mohawks were popularized as an outward sign of rebellion. However, the men of the Native American tribe by the same name sported this hairstyle when going to battle as a sign of bravery and to protect women and children. 
In the later part of the twentieth century, a band called Redbone gained massive success and flaunted their heritage from the Shoshone and Yaqui tribes by wearing Native clothing on TV while performing their classic pop hit “Come And Get Your Love.”



    In Africa and tropical America, people have used drum telegraphy to communicate with each other over long distances for centuries. When European expeditions came into the jungles, they were surprised to find that the message of their coming and their intention was already carried through the woods a step in advance of their arrival.  Among the most famous communication drums are the drums of West Africa. From regions known today as Nigeria and Ghana, they spread throughout West Africa and to America and the Caribbean during the slave trade. There they were banned because they were being used by the slaves to communicate over long distances in a code unknown to their captors. In certain languages, the pitch of each syllable is uniquely determined in relation to each adjacent syllable. In these cases, messages can be transmitted as rapid beats at the same speed as speech.


Lastly, the Pygmy people in central Africa are known for their below-average stature (most men are shorter than 4’11”.) But, the music of the Pygmies is different from that of the rest of the African continent in that it is mostly vocal music characterized by dense contrapuntal communal improvisation.  The level of polyphonic complexity of pygmy music was reached in Europe in the 14th century, yet pygmy culture is unwritten and ancient. Music permeates daily life and there are songs for entertainment as well as specific cultural events and activities.





Comments

  1. WenTing YaoJanuary 12, 2020 at 7:51 PM

    I like the fact the people still wear their traditional clothes to this day. I myself still wear traditional clothes of my culture from time to time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tianna HallJanuary 14, 2020 at 12:43 PM

    Also, African Americans used tap dancing to communicated to each other to. But, the captors started to catch on what they were doing. That's cool really that men had Mohawks hairstyles in battles, so it would show that they were brave.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joanna NorwoodJanuary 14, 2020 at 7:48 PM

    I had no idea that "Come And Get Your Love" was written by Native Americans! It's so cool that they were able to perform for mainstream audiences in their traditional attire. I also think the story you told about West African tribes communicating with drums about incoming colonizers is so interesting. It is common for Westerners to think that tribal cultures are inherently less advanced, but what European civilization could communicate that efficiently and covertly during the time of the slave trade? It must have been incredibly fast-paced communication for the time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dr. Kelly VanemanJanuary 17, 2020 at 7:58 AM

    It's true--the line between appreciation and appropriation is a tricky one. I think it all hinges on the issue of respect. And, you know, in a way the punk rockers of the 80s sporting mohawks as an act of bravery going into battle--the movement was originally one of anarchy, of going to battle with "the man."

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