Gamo’s Polyphony: From The Field To The Stage
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the indigenous songs of a commune that lives southwest of Ethiopia, in one of the woredas located in the Gamo zone associated with the southern highland commune, the Bonke. Even though their musical culture is immense, it is not well studied. Therefore, this study focuses on the indigenous music and the activities and ceremonies associated with music, and how the Bonke indigenous musical tradition is being carried on today. To meet the above objective, I employed a musical ethnography method that is based on a conceptual framework of music as culture. Both primary and secondary data were collected. Primary data were secured through observation, participant observation, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Purposive sampling was used to identify the target population for the in-depth interviews, but both purposive and random sampling methods were used for the focus group discussions. Secondary data were collected from musical discographies, documents, books, and articles to assess the musical culture. The goal of this study is to revive and incorporate Gamo’s indigenous music into Ethiopia’s mainstream culture by collaborating with the acclaimed artist YEMa on her recordings, blending traditional sounds with modern music. It also includes involving local musicians in recording and live shows to enhance their visibility and support the preservation of their cultural heritage. The findings of the study were analyzed, and the basic indigenous song musical elements of Bonke were identified, which are mainly polyphonic.
Keywords: indigenous music, polyphony, polyrhythm