Date of Award
5-1997
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Music
Abstract
"Batuko and Funana: Musical Traditions of Santiago, Cape Verde Islands" is primarily based on an ethnographic survey emphasizing music and culture I conducted with a people of African descent living in Santiago, one of the Cape Verdean islands. This group of people is informally referred to as the Badius. I undertook the field research for the project in Cape Verde in June and July, 1991 and from October 1992 through August 1993. Before, between, and after those trips I did additional field research with people from Santiago living in the extensive Cape Verdean communities of Southern New England.
In this research, I focused on the traditional Badiu genres batuko and funana. Batuko is a music and dance genre performed by women's groups in Santiago. One woman (or occasionally a man) leads the ensemble in a song with a calland- response structure. The women accompany themselves by beating duple and triple rhythms on rolled-up cloths held between their mid-thighs. The combined effect of the patterns produces a composite polyrhythm which is characteristic of batuko. As the group sings, one or more individuals dance in the center of the circle.