Beni (music)
Beni is an indigenized East African form of brass band music.[1] The dance was developed during the colonial era, and it mimicked military and colonial administration with music and aesthetic expression.[2][3]
The word beni derives from the English word "band."[4] Beni appropriated symbols of colonial authority as the military drill, uniform, and elaborate hierarchies.[5]
Beni is considered an evolution of taarab, a traditional form of East African music.[6] Beni is also spelled Mbeni.[7]
The beni ngoma is a competitive dance genre based on a military drill performed to brass-band music. They included Swahili songs.[5][8] It is a popular form of wedding entertainment with a strong focus on rhythm and dance, and audience participation.
History
[edit]Beni has its origins in urban Swahili communities on the Kenyan coast in the 1890s,[9] where it came to be part of the culture of competitive associations.[10] Brass band music was performed for British audiences in East Africa.[5] Brass band music was used by missionaries to introduce European culture to young people in Zanzibar.[5] At the same time, in the late colonial period, beni was a way for young people to express their independence.[9][5]
Around 1914, the style spread to Tanga and Dar es Salaam. The first accounts of beni in Nyasaland were around 1918. During the First World War, beni was danced by askari soldiers.[11] Prisoners of war danced it in the detention camp at Zomba, followed by detachments of the 2nd KAR when they returned to Nairobi.[9] Beni dancers were instrumental in structured communication during the 1935 Copperbelt strike.[2][3]
When beni was indigenized, western instruments were dropped in favor of local instruments, and march time was replaced by African cross beats and Polyrhythm.[12] In Kenya, wooden trumpets were substituted for traditional brass versions of the instrument.[13]
In Zanzibar, Beni is performed both as a street parade and stationary as a wedding dance.[14][unreliable source?]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Manuh, Takyiwaa; Sutherland-Addy, Esi (2013). Africa in contemporary perspective: a textbook for undergraduate students (1. publ ed.). Oxford: Sub Saharan Publ. p. 447. ISBN 9789988647377.
- ^ a b Freund, Bill (2016). The Making of Contemporary Africa: The Development of African Society Since 1800. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 114. ISBN 978-1-137-60620-4.
- ^ a b Ranger, Terence O. (1975). Dance and Society in Eastern Africa, 1890–1970: The Beni Ngoma. University of California Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-520-02729-9.
- ^ The Garland Handbook of African Music. p. 305.
- ^ a b c d e Dance and Society in Eastern Africa, 1890-1970: The Beni Ngoma.
- ^ "The 'Waswahili' and Their Hold on East Africa's Popular Musical Culture – The Elephant". 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Mbeni : dance of the Akamba | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org.
- ^ Brucher, Katherine (15 April 2016). Brass Bands of the World: Militarism, Colonial Legacies, and Local Music Making. Routledge. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-317-17266-6.
- ^ a b c McCracken, John (2012). A History of Malawi, 1859–1966. Woodbridge, Suffolk (GB). pp. 156–158. ISBN 978-1-78204-028-6. OCLC 815390658.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ . p. 171.
{{cite book}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Garofalo, Reebee (1992). Rockin' the Boat: Mass Music and Mass Movements. South End Press. ISBN 978-0-89608-427-8.
- ^ Africa in Contemporary Perspective. ISBN 9789988647490.
- ^ Music, Garland Encyclopedia of World (11 January 2013). The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 1. Routledge. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-136-09570-2.
- ^ McIntyre, Chris; McIntyre, Susan (2013). Zanzibar. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1-84162-458-7.
Bibliography
[edit]Martin, Stephen H. (2017). "Brass bands and the beni phenomenon in urban east Africa". African Music : Journal of the International Library of African Music. 7 (1): 72–81. doi:10.21504/amj.v7i1.1931. JSTOR 30249988.
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