Music+and+Dance+(Amelie)

​ __ Music and Dance Amelie __



__ Music __ Music is a very important part of Senegalese life. There are very many different instruments. First are the drums. Drums are very respected and popular instruments in Senegal. The main traditional music uses drums. The tamal is shaped like an hourglass and held under the arm. The sabar is a drum that is played by the Wolof people with dancing. There will be more information about this dance later. Other procussion instruments are xylophones, rattles, gongs bells. Some xylophones are the balaphons which are made of a wooden gourd. Some string instruments are the kora which has 21 strings and is like a harp made out of the calabash gourd, and the xalam which is a type of lute. Most stringed instruments have 5 strings. A few wind instruments are whistles, horns and flutes. There are a few different types of music. The main one that is popular right now is called Mbalax which came around in the 70's. Mbalax is influenced from jazz, soul, salsa and rock. Mbalax uses Afro-Carribbean pop. It is based of Molof sabar drumming. It also has dynamic expression. Electric guitars and keyboards try to mimic the styles of mbalax. Most superstars are men but there are some that are wemen. Two popular artists are Baaba Maal and Y'oussou N'Dour. Y'oussou N'Dour is from Dakar and began proforming as a child. He was a professional at 12. Below is a clip of one of his concerts. Senegal has one of the most developed west african music industries. People also sing while they work. Music is associated with celebrations and rituals. Their songs aren't written on paper. Different songs and instruments are reserved for different genders. Music is very essential in Senegal, and it is a large part of their lives.

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 * This is a video of a concert of Y'oussou N'Dour. ||

__ Dance __ Music is associated with dancing. One type of dance is Sabar. The sabar is a drum, but the dance was named after it. On Fridays, everyone gathers in a meeting spot and dances. Only wemen dance at this gathering. While wemen normally aren't allowed to show any of their legs, in this dance, they lift their skirts high and show their legs. The dance isn't about proforming, it's about expressing one's self and parcipitation of groups. Sometimes the men do dance sabar, but only if there's a good reason. They sometimes do this dance to get money to bring home to their families. The native dances are spontanious movements with traditional forms. Dance has developed as part of religious or ethnic ceremonies. Below is a video of a sabar on Friday. While watching this video, skip around if you just want to watch the dancing or the woman talking about the culture of the Senegalaise people because it's a ten minute video.

(start watching at 2:50 min.)

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Works Cited Berg, Elizabeth L. //Cultures of the World: Senegal//. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1999. Print. Encyclopedia, New World. “Senegal.” //New World Encyclopedia//. Creative Commons Attribution/‌Share-Alike License, 17 Sept. 2008. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. . Eyre, Banning. “Senegal.” //National Geographic World Music//. Courtesy Afropop Worldwide, 2010. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. . “Republic of Senegal: The Arts.” //CultureGrams World Edition//. Proquest, 2010. Web. 9 Mar. 2010. . Streissguth, Tom. //Senegal in Pictures//. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1958. Print.