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World Music Exploration - Traditional Music of Kenya

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This month, my students and I are exploring the music of Kenya. There are 13 tribes in Kenya, each with a distinct style of Kenyan traditional music:

  1. Akamba: highly percussive music

  2. Bajuni: mainly male singers

  3. Borana: feature the chamonge guitar (cooking pot strung like a guitar)

  4. Chuka: polyrhythmic percussion music

  5. Gusii: features an obokano (lute-like instrument) and a ground bow

  6. Kikuyu: features female singers and dancers, featuring music for initiations, courting, weddings, hunting, and working

  7. Luhya: features drums

  8. Luo: feature drums, clappers, metal rings, ongeng'o or gara, shakers, strings instruments such as the nyatiti, wind instruments such as tung' a horn,Asili, a flute, Abu-! and singing

  9. Maasai: call and response vocal music

  10. Mijikenda: percussion music

  11. Samburu: vocals, pipes, guitar

  12. Taraab: singing with accompaniment with Arabic and Indian influences

  13. Turkana: call and response music mostly, some horn

This week's clip is an example of call and response music:

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