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[[File:Batwa women in Burundi cropped.jpg|thumb|Rural Burundian women, such as those pictured above, may greet each other with akazehe]]
[[File:Batwa women in Burundi cropped.jpg|thumb|Rural Burundian women, such as those pictured above, may greet each other with akazehe]]
[[File:Akazehe by two young women.mp3|thumb|A short sample audio recording of two young women performing akazehe in rapid interlocking rhythm. The full performance lasts several minutes.]]
[[File:Akazehe by two young women.mp3|thumb|A short sample audio recording of two young women performing akazehe in rapid interlocking rhythm. The full performance lasts several minutes.]]
'''Akazehe'''{{Efn|also spelled '''akazihi'''}} (also known as '''agocoya'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Burundi |url=https://music.africamuseum.be/instruments/english/burundi/burundi.html |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=music.africamuseum.be |archive-date=2021-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020081617/https://www.lindro.it/burundi-la-maledizione-di-karjenda-il-tamburo-sacro/ |url-status=live }}</ref> or, regionally, '''akayégo{{Efn|Variant name used in the Buyogoma region. The root ''-yego'' is a sign of consent and it is used also in ''uruyego'' which means "scream out of joy".{{sfn|Facci|Ciucci|2020|p=31}}}}''' or '''akahibongozo'''{{Efn|Also spelled '''''agahibongozo'''''. "means beautiful voice, beautiful melody, but also a success, a masterwork and it derives from the verb ''guhibongoza'', that is, to perfect, to do something with elegance."{{sfn|Facci|Ciucci|2020|p=31}}}}) is a traditional [[Burundi]]an form of chanted extended musical [[greeting]], sung exclusively by and between women.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Facci |first1=Serena |last2=Ciucci |first2=Alessandra |date=2020 |title=The Akazehe of Burundi: Polyphonic Interlocking Greetings and the Female Ceremonial. |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/emt/article/view/30278 |journal=Ethnomusicology Translations |issue=10 |pages=1–37 |doi=10.14434/emt.v0i10.30278 |s2cid=219002993 |via=IUScholarWorks Journals |access-date=2023-11-15 |archive-date=2023-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115035954/https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/emt/article/view/30278 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-01 |title=Explore Burundi: The Akazehe |url=https://www.gazellefoundation.org/blog/2020/7/20/akazehe-a-joyful-burundian-greeting |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Gazelle Foundation |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706210153/https://www.gazellefoundation.org/blog/2020/7/20/akazehe-a-joyful-burundian-greeting |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Polyphony|polyphonic]] form is practiced among rural women as a quotidian greeting between pairs of friends or relatives, irrespective of time or occasion.<ref name=":0" />
'''Akazehe'''{{Efn|also spelled '''akazihi'''}} (also known as '''agocoya'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Burundi |url=https://music.africamuseum.be/instruments/english/burundi/burundi.html |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=music.africamuseum.be |archive-date=2021-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020081617/https://www.lindro.it/burundi-la-maledizione-di-karjenda-il-tamburo-sacro/ |url-status=live }}</ref> or, regionally, '''akayégo{{Efn|Variant name used in the Buyogoma region.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Ndimurwanko |first=Isaac |date=1986 |title=Une étude thématique du genre akazehe comme lieu d’expression de la condition de la femme au Burundi |degree=MA |publisher=University of Burundi}}</ref> The root ''-yego'' is a sign of consent and it is used also in ''uruyego'' which means "scream out of joy".{{sfn|Facci|Ciucci|2020|p=31}}}}''' or '''akahibongozo'''{{Efn|Also spelled '''''agahibongozo'''''. "means beautiful voice, beautiful melody, but also a success, a masterwork and it derives from the verb ''guhibongoza'', that is, to perfect, to do something with elegance."{{sfn|Facci|Ciucci|2020|p=31}}}}) is a traditional [[Burundi]]an form of chanted extended musical [[greeting]], sung exclusively by and between women.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Facci |first1=Serena |last2=Ciucci |first2=Alessandra |date=2020 |title=The Akazehe of Burundi: Polyphonic Interlocking Greetings and the Female Ceremonial. |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/emt/article/view/30278 |journal=Ethnomusicology Translations |issue=10 |pages=1–37 |doi=10.14434/emt.v0i10.30278 |s2cid=219002993 |via=IUScholarWorks Journals |access-date=2023-11-15 |archive-date=2023-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115035954/https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/emt/article/view/30278 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-01 |title=Explore Burundi: The Akazehe |url=https://www.gazellefoundation.org/blog/2020/7/20/akazehe-a-joyful-burundian-greeting |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Gazelle Foundation |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706210153/https://www.gazellefoundation.org/blog/2020/7/20/akazehe-a-joyful-burundian-greeting |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Polyphony|polyphonic]] form is practiced among rural women as a quotidian greeting between pairs of friends or relatives, irrespective of time or occasion.<ref name=":0" />


Within Burundi, akazehe is generally understood as conversational rather than musical, with the practice (whose name derives from the [[Kirundi]] root {{lang|rn|-zehe}}, meaning ''to chat'') typically referred to in terms of speaking rather than of singing.<ref name=":0" /> Though it was noted in 1996 as being in decline,<ref name=":0" /> the practice has been identified as recently as 2014 as a source of well-being for conflict-affected women in Burundi.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bragin |first1=Martha |last2=Onta |first2=Karuna |last3=Janepher |first3=Taaka |last4=Nzeyimana |first4=Generose |last5=Eibs |first5=Tonka |title=To be well at heart: women's perceptions of psychosocial wellbeing in three conflict affected countries |journal=Intervention |date=2014 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=187–209 |doi=10.1097/WTF.0000000000000030}}</ref>
Within Burundi, akazehe is generally understood as conversational rather than musical, with the practice (whose name derives from the [[Kirundi]] root {{lang|rn|-zehe}}, meaning ''to chat'') typically referred to in terms of speaking rather than of singing.<ref name=":0" /> Though it was noted in 1996 as being in decline,<ref name=":0" /> the practice has been identified as recently as 2014 as a source of well-being for conflict-affected women in Burundi.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bragin |first1=Martha |last2=Onta |first2=Karuna |last3=Janepher |first3=Taaka |last4=Nzeyimana |first4=Generose |last5=Eibs |first5=Tonka |title=To be well at heart: women's perceptions of psychosocial wellbeing in three conflict affected countries |journal=Intervention |date=2014 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=187–209 |doi=10.1097/WTF.0000000000000030}}</ref>

Revision as of 06:04, 4 January 2024

Rural Burundian women, such as those pictured above, may greet each other with akazehe
A short sample audio recording of two young women performing akazehe in rapid interlocking rhythm. The full performance lasts several minutes.

Akazehe[a] (also known as agocoya[1] or, regionally, akayégo[b] or akahibongozo[c]) is a traditional Burundian form of chanted extended musical greeting, sung exclusively by and between women.[4][5] The polyphonic form is practiced among rural women as a quotidian greeting between pairs of friends or relatives, irrespective of time or occasion.[4]

Within Burundi, akazehe is generally understood as conversational rather than musical, with the practice (whose name derives from the Kirundi root -zehe, meaning to chat) typically referred to in terms of speaking rather than of singing.[4] Though it was noted in 1996 as being in decline,[4] the practice has been identified as recently as 2014 as a source of well-being for conflict-affected women in Burundi.[6]

Ritual and musical structure

Upon encounter, the female performers get close to one another and, standing up straight, place one or both arms on the forearm(s) or shoulder(s) of the other. The women's heads are next to each other, facing either the same or opposite directions, but never facing one another or meeting eyes. Once this posture is assumed, it is maintained without movement (except for, in some cases, "highly controlled" lip movement and caresses of the forearms) throughout the chant, which may last for several minutes. The chant follows a call-and-response structure and accords to an interlocking rhythm, with one woman singing a melodic, variable part (called the gutera, meaning to throw), to the other woman's rhythmic ostinato response (called the kwakira, meaning to receive). The women obligatorily switch roles throughout the chant, timing the reversal(s) with brief pauses or with some conventional phrases. The rhythm of the akazehe is complex, with complete melodies forming from segments sung in rapid, overlapping enunciation,[4] across a narrow range of notes.[7] When the women part at the end of the chant, they meet each other's eyes and may smile, laugh, greet each other in other conventional ways (such as by shaking hands), and chat.[4]

Lyrical content

The lyrical contents of the chant can include expressions of complicity and affection, affirmations of the two performers' relative roles (e.g. Hello, hello my daughter; Yes, yes, yes my dear[4]), exchanged news and more, according to a ten-tiered hierarchy of thematic priority, as identified by Isaac Ndimurwakno:[4]

  1. Friendship among women
  2. Domestic activity
  3. Rules of behavior
  4. One's family of origin
  5. The situation in the new family
  6. The way of dressing
  7. The new ambience which is hostile
  8. The new characters
  9. The woman left alone working in the fields
  10. Wishes

The following is an example of an akazehe, transcribed by Italian ethnomusicologist Serena Facci:[4]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ also spelled akazihi
  2. ^ Variant name used in the Buyogoma region.[2] The root -yego is a sign of consent and it is used also in uruyego which means "scream out of joy".[3]
  3. ^ Also spelled agahibongozo. "means beautiful voice, beautiful melody, but also a success, a masterwork and it derives from the verb guhibongoza, that is, to perfect, to do something with elegance."[3]

References

  1. ^ "Burundi". music.africamuseum.be. Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  2. ^ Ndimurwanko, Isaac (1986). Une étude thématique du genre akazehe comme lieu d’expression de la condition de la femme au Burundi (MA thesis). University of Burundi.
  3. ^ a b Facci & Ciucci 2020, p. 31.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Facci, Serena; Ciucci, Alessandra (2020). "The Akazehe of Burundi: Polyphonic Interlocking Greetings and the Female Ceremonial". Ethnomusicology Translations (10): 1–37. doi:10.14434/emt.v0i10.30278. S2CID 219002993. Archived from the original on 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2023-11-15 – via IUScholarWorks Journals.
  5. ^ "Explore Burundi: The Akazehe". Gazelle Foundation. 2020-12-01. Archived from the original on 2023-07-06. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  6. ^ Bragin, Martha; Onta, Karuna; Janepher, Taaka; Nzeyimana, Generose; Eibs, Tonka (2014). "To be well at heart: women's perceptions of psychosocial wellbeing in three conflict affected countries". Intervention. 12 (2): 187–209. doi:10.1097/WTF.0000000000000030.
  7. ^ Agawu, Kofi (2016). The African Imagination in Music (Print ed.). New York: Oxford Academic. p. 212. ISBN 9780190263232.
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