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Songs from the Hunters’ Qur’an: Dozo Music, Textuality, and Islam in Northwestern Côte d’Ivoire, from the Repertoire of Dramane Coulibaly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2019

Joseph Hellweg
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Abstract:

The hunting songs of the majority-Muslim, Odienné region of Northwestern Côte d’Ivoire accomplish more than meets the ear. They conjoin and distinguish Muslim goals and ostensibly non-Muslim hunting practices. The musical repertoire of my host, Dramane Coulibaly, is illustrative. This study examines the role that Dramane’s songs played in motivating initiated dozo hunters to kill game during dozo funerals, a primary concern for dozos at these events. Next, it analyzes the structure and content of Dramane’s songs in relation to the embodied, emplaced, and material dimensions of dozo funerals, where Dramane’s performances served to calm the spirits of the dead so that they would leave the living in peace. Finally, it examines the musical aspects of Dramane’s songs in relation to Islam, with the aim of broadening the study of Islam in West Africa and beyond to encompass the texts and performance practices of dozo funerals.

Résumé :

les chants de chasse de la région à majorité musulmane d’Odienné, au nord-ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire, accomplissent plus qu’il n’y parait. Ils joignent et distinguent les objectifs musulmans et les pratiques de chasse apparemment non-musulmanes. Les chansons de mon hôte, Dramane Coulibaly, sont représentatives. Cette étude examine tout d’abord la relation substantielle que les textes de chansons de Dramane établissent entre ses performances et la chasse, une préoccupation centrale des dozos. Ensuite, il analyse la structure et le contenu des chansons de Dramane en relation avec les dimensions symboliques réalisées de mises en scène des funérailles dozo, où ses performances ont servi à calmer les esprits des morts afin qu’ils puissent laisser en paix les vivants. Enfin, il examine les aspects musicaux des chansons de Dramane en relation avec l’islam, dans le but d’élargir l’étude de l’islam en Afrique de l’Ouest et de l’islam en général, pour y inclure l’esthétique sonique et cinétique des performances dozo.

Resumo:

As canções de caça típicas de Odienné, uma região no noroeste da Costa do Marfim de maioria muçulmana, cumprem mais funções do que o ouvido alcança. Elas articulam e distinguem os objetivos muçulmanos e as práticas de caça aparentemente não muçulmanas. As canções de Dramane Coulibaly, o meu anfitrião, são disso exemplificativas. O presente artigo analisa a relação de causa e efeito que as letras das canções de Dramane estabelecem entre as suas performances e a caça, uma preocupação central para os dozos. Em seguida, analisa-se a estrutura e o conteúdo das canções de Dramane e a sua relação com as dimensões materiais e de concretização dos funerais dozo, onde as suas performances serviam para acalmar os espíritos dos mortos, de modo que estes deixassem os vivos em paz. Por fim, o artigo debruça-se sobre os aspetos musicais que, nas canções de Dramane, se relacionam com o Islão, tendo como objetivo um aprofundamento do estudo do Islão na África ocidental – e do Islão em geral – que inclua a estética sonora e cinética das performances dozo.

Keywords

Côte d’Ivoiredozo huntersdozoshuntersIslamJulaMalinkeMandeorality and literacyWest Africa
Type
FORUM: The Power of Performance—the Performance of Power
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 62 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 120 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2019 

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