Bubu (music)

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Bubu is a traditional folk music from Sierra Leone .

Music genre

Bubu is usually played by a live band of around ten people. Core instruments are single-tone flutes of different lengths made of bamboo and various percussion instruments such as drums and cowbells . Primarily intended as live music, it is often improvised music that is played between 15 minutes and five hours.

Origin and history

Bubu is the traditional music style of the Temne , who are particularly widespread in the west and north of Sierra Leone. The exact origin is unclear and is mythically transfigured by the Temne. The music is said to come from the village of Mange Bureh. According to legend, a boy learned music from witches 500 years ago. Afterwards he taught the music to children at the risk of his life so that the music could be passed on from generation to generation.

Accordingly, the music initially served primarily ritual purposes and was used to invoke old spirits and cast out devils. When the Temne were Islamized , the original religious meaning was lost. Instead, the music was used for the climax of Ramadan .

Janka Nabay made the local music popular during the civil war in Sierra Leone . He appeared on the television show SuperSound , where he played his own interpretation of Bubus, which he mixed with electronic music . The music quickly became known throughout the country and in some cases was also misused by the rebel troops of the Revolutionary United Front . The troops used the music to simulate a festival in order to lure residents of smaller towns into a trap. Some songs that were critical of the war were also rewritten by Nabay and used as battle anthems.

Nabay, who released two albums in the United States, remains the only known representative of the Bubus in the western world to this day. In Sierra Leone, the music continues to be used in cultural festivities. In addition, a crossover style emerged that mixed Bubu with popular hip-hop and rap .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Bubu in Sierra Leone . In: Music In Africa . February 16, 2017 ( musicinafrica.net [accessed October 1, 2018]).
  2. ↑ Afropop Worldwide | Mystic in It: Janka Nabay and the Bubu Life. Retrieved October 1, 2018 (American English).