African Oramedia
February 10, 2016
African Oramedia
Help Received: None
Matthew Penaranda
Matthew Penaranda
February 10, 2016
Help Received: None
African Oramedia
Amidst the 21st century digital age, antiquated medias continue to endure across the various tribal communities of Africa. While the rest of the world is saturated in electronic communication systems with everything from social media to personal email in the palm of their hands, African communities still rely on oramedia to this day and there are many cases of are areas that have yet to develop even simple forms of symblolographic writing systems. The lacking pervasiveness of any form of digital or even electronic media is often unimaginable considering Africa’s contact with the Western world that has attempted to impose itself on the continent since the days of early European imperialism. The rest of the world may not be actively attempting to invade Africa in the modern era, but Osho comments that a sort of “cultural imperialism” is inherent in the nature of new technologies that seemingly export their culture through new medias such as telecommunication, internet access, “films, and entertainment rather than armed forces and dollar imperialism.” African oramedia is a broad study interested in all sorts of non-written forms of communication including the use of “gongs, drum beats, town criers, puppet shows, dance, singing and masks actually influenced the Greek and the Roman civilizations” (Osho). Oramedias remains central to African identity in the face of the pressures of new medias. This essay will be a case study of the predominant non-written communication methods of musical communication methods characteristic of various different tribal African groups including idiophone, membranophone, and aerophone instruments that are almost entirely unique to African culture (Makyotto).
The first prevalent musical communication method of oramedia I researched is idiophones. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines idiophones as “ any of a class of musical instruments (such as a bell or gong) whose sound is generated by striking, rubbing, plucking, or blowing the material of the instrument itself not under any special tension.” The most common idiophones include the atoke, gankoquil, axaste, and mbira. The atoke and gankoquil are both bell-based instruments made with West African iron. Both of these instrument systems are prevalent amongst West African tribes that benefitted from the luxury of the enduring legacy of earlier Nigerian kingdoms’ development of iron-smelting. Bells in different sizes and shapes are indicative of different roles of the user or are used for different ceremonies. Most bell instruments do not have a codified means of making messages but it is not out of the question for bells to be used for simple distance communication if only to indicate one’s presence.
The next instrument system is membranophanic instruments. Membranophane instruments in laymans terms are “any of a class of musical instruments (such as a drum or kazoo) whose sound is generated by striking, rubbing, or singing into a stretched membrane” (Merriam-Webster). Drum-based instruments are probably the most significant and developed form of oramedia in African culture. Drums, like all instrumental communication systems, primarily have ceremonial origins. The most well known drum is the so-called “talking drum” that endures today in tribal communities as well as in the interests of devotees of the music world who are fascinated by the simplicity of its timeless design. The user of the talking drum may manipulate the pitch of the drum by hugging striings attached to the sides of the instrument which tighten and loosen the membrane that the user hits wit their hands and drumstick thereby resulting in varying sounds that mimic human voice patterns. Simple in design, this and the djembe drum are flagships for African oramedia for centuries now. The talking drum was banned by colonies in the Americas because of the capacity for slaves to communicate with them and their masters being unable to understand the messages. In order to understand the messages of the talking drum, one must be familiar with the ceremonies that the drums were played in. Without a thoroughly codified system, the talking drum relies on the receiver to translate the culmination of the “words” mimicked by the drum, the tempo, as well as the receiver’s knowledge of African ceremonies in order to make something out of the message. For example, the culmination of attempted drumming the word “danger,” an urgent tempo, and a familiar rhythm associated with a ceremony about tribal wars or other conflicts might be received as a distress message from one slave to another. While this may be difficult to understand given the limited experience outsiders have with African ceremonies and tradition, hearing the drums for myself proved to be an enlightening experience. Their lack of written records and codified telegraphic systems means their communication systems are entirely private to those who have little to no experience with the specific tribes that influence the user and receivers method of drumming. Although it is one single instrument, there are various layers to the tonal quality of the talking drum. The strikes on the membrane allow for rhythm while the manipulation of the surrounding strings changes the echoed low tones that actually sound like one’s voice.
The talking-drum remains a staple of not only African culture but should be credited for influencing the musical traditions of the rest of the world. Unlike the usual trend of imperialistic colonialism, Africans did little to adopt the traditions of the Europeans who conquered them in terms of music. On the contrary, it was the African traditions of rhythm and emphasis on beat borrowed fro their simple drumming styles that would take root in the colonies where they were made to work and eventually in the jazz and blues movements which looked to the traditional and soulful slave songs that were modified versions of ancient African ceremony songs. Despite the seeming simplicity of African drum ceremonies, there is an obvious complexity to the use of such instruments as the talking drum that cannot be realized even my expert musicians.
Insight into oramedia communications has offered an insight into the unique nature of African society. Unlike the rest of the world that has displayed exponential rates of adoption in terms of electronic and digital communication systems, African societies still rely on simple networks or otherwise are content to remain independent from contact with others resulting in the limited development of their telegraphic traditions.
Works Cited
“Idiophone.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2016.
Makyotto, Kevin M. “BE EDUCATED.” : CLASSIFICATION OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. N.p., 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.
“Membranophone.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
Osho, Sulaiman A. “The Uniqueness of African Means of Communication in a Contemporary World.” Africanoutlookonline. Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.