The Politics of Representation and Transmission in the Globalization of Guinea's Djembe.

Abstract

My dissertation investigates the impact of globalization on the growth and change of a local West African musical tradition. Within the past few decades there has been a transformation of Guinean djembé music from a locally based music used solely to accompany village rituals and dance festivities into an internationally performed and taught musical genre. In the last twenty years, the global consumption of this music has grown to the point where the djembé is now one of the most widely played African drum. How has this happened? What are the repercussions? My approach encompasses issues surrounding both representation and transmission. First, I present the djembé as a political object in the contexts of: Guinea's first cultural representation as a nation, Les Ballets Africains de la République de Guinée; its appropriation by members of the African American drum and dance community in the United States, in various forms including the International Afrikan American Ballet; the creation and promotion of “traditional” concert djembé music by retired djembéfolas Mamady Keïta and Famoudou Konaté. Within the context of these representations of the djembé, my research demonstrates the multivalent engagement of the terms “tradition” and “authenticity” from various political perspectives. Second, I frame transmission as a cross-cultural space where this music now resides as a globally imagined genre. Through my analysis of the musical products (pedagogical books and recordings) that have been created, I conclude that what has taken place is a complex process of cross-cultural negotiation between Guinean djembéfolas and their German and American apprentices. My approach encompasses musical analysis along with participant observation within workshops given by Keïta, Konaté and their apprentices in Guinea, Germany, and the United States. My analysis is further informed by interviews with students and teachers involved in the process of transmission. Finally, I approach globalization as a grassroots process that takes place almost exclusively through face-to-face contact. I examine the global network of students and aficionados which surround Keïta and Konaté as a globalized, aesthetic network grounded in a shared affinity for the music and cultural history promoted by these Guinean master drummers.