Fiddling in West Africa: Touching the Spirit in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba Cultures

Fiddling has had a lengthy history in Africa which has long been ignored. Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje corrects this oversight with an expansive study on fiddling in the Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba cultures of West Africa. DjeDje not only explains the history of the instrument itself, but also discusses the processes of stylistic transference and adaptation, suggesting how these may have contributed to differing performance practices. Additionally, DjeDje delves into the music, the performance context, the musicians behind the fiddle, the meaning of the instrument, and its use in these three cultures. This detailed work helps the reader understand and appreciate three little-known musical cultures in West Africa and the fiddle's influence upon them.

The dissemination of the one-stringed fiddle tradition in Africa seems to be concentrated in the so-called "Sudanic Belt," an area that shares the border with the Pan-Arabic territory (also known as the Sahel). Djedje (UCLA) applies a multi-sited ethnography, focusing her research on the spread of the fiddle. She asserts that the dispersion of this instrument in West Africa is related to movement of the Fulbe, a nomadic people who originated in the Senegal Valley and migrated across West Africa, from Senegal to Lake Chad. The author successfully presents and demonstrates how the identity of this instrument has been reshaped to fit the history and ideology of ethnic groups that assimilated the instrument out of contact with the Fulbe. In addition to the lengthy bibliography, the book includes a generous "discography and videography of selected recordings of one-stringed fiddle music from West Africa," organized geographically by ethnic groups. This strong example of ethnomusicology will also benefit students of anthropology and ethnography. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. -- ChoiceKazadi wa Mukuna, Kent State University, December 2008

"The scope of this fascinating and painstakingly researched study is broad, but it is also meticulously focused, so that, after an introduction to the one-stringed spike bowl lute and a look at how it came to the region, Cogdell Djedje takes on each of the three cultures [Fulbe, Hausa and Dagbamba] in turn." --Catherine Nelson, October 2009 Indiana University Press

"This broad comparative approach synthesizing several decades of research is groundbreaking in both ethnomusicology and African studies, and the author has the expertise and authority to accomplish such a difficult project." --Eric Charry, Wesleyan University

"... Fiddling in West Africa is a good resource not only for a Westerner who knows next to nothing about fiddling in some 'obscure' corner of Africa, but also for the African student and scholar trying to understand the musical practices of their folk. This interesting piece is as informative as it educative, and should be at the head of reading-lists for students of ethnomusicology and cultural studies, and on the desk of the avid reader." --Abdulai Salifu, Indiana University, Journal of Folklore Research, October 15, 2008

"Fiddling in West Africa... is a phenomenal addition to critical literature on African music in particular and ethnomusicology in general.Ths seminal publication represents an excellent consummation of a sustained scholarship on a West African music tradition that spans three decades." --Intl. Journal of African Historical Studies, May 2008

"Fiddling in West Africa furnishes substantive and intelligent answers to various questions about the nature and purpose of fiddling in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba. Djedje makes a significant contribution to ethnomusicology with far-reaching impact across disciplinary boundaries. Fiddling in West Africa is an invaluable resource for students and scholars, as well as the general public." --American Ethnologist, Volume 36, No. 3, August 2009 Indiana University Press

"[T]his is a fascinating book that deserves the attention not only of African-oriented scholars but also of ethnomusicologists in general, and it is recommended to all institutions dealing with African cultures." --The World of Music, 51(2), 2009 Indiana University Press

"This impressive book is both ambitious in its scope and meticulously detailed... The importance of Fiddlers in West Africa spans far beyond being a rich source of information about fiddling traditions... DjeDje's book defies these stereotypes by opening the reader to the sheer diversity of musical instruments, approaches, and repertoires in West Africa." --Notes

Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje is Professor and Chair of Ethnomusicology and former Director of the Ethnomusicology Archive at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: A Master Fiddler and a Significant but Little-Known Tradition

1. Fiddling in West Africa: Understanding the Culture Area

2. An Affirmation of Identity: Fulbe Fiddling in Senegambia

3. Calling the Bori Spirits: Hausa Fiddling in Nigeria

4. In Service to the King: Dagbamba Fiddling in Ghana

Conclusion

Appendix: Distribution of the One-Stringed Fiddle

Notes

List of References

Discography and Videography

Index