Waza (Berta)

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Waza Orchestra in the Komosha area southwest of the Blue Nile in the western lowlands of Ethiopia

Waza is a blown natural trumpet made by Berta on the border between Sudan and Ethiopia . A waza trumpet ensemble consists of ten to twelve musicians, each of whom produces a note. Trumpet music enjoys the highest esteem in the Berta Society and is performed at public events and large family celebrations.

Design and distribution

The waza in the Sudanese province of Berta azraq al-an-Nil and the Ethiopian Administrative Region Benishangul-Gumuz consists of a thick pipe taper from a plurality of long oval grown pumpkins . Their fruit peels harden into calabashes as they dry , and these are cut open on both sides to create almost cylindrical tubes. The individual segments can be pushed into one another with an increasing diameter. Two or more wooden strips are used for stabilization, placed on the outside and fixed in place by wrapping them in several places. The total length is between 50 and 180 centimeters.

The design of the calabash trumpet is unique. The adjacent Ethiopian Oromo know a metal trumpet Turumba that KAFFA a hoora of wood and the Aari (Shankilla) is a cross-blown cow horn, which is only played solo.

Ensembles made up of several wind instruments that produce one sound are otherwise part of the tradition of the Central African bandas . With the Dakpa, a subgroup of the bandas, the orchestra consists of 13 wooden trumpets called mbaya , which are between 30 and 170 centimeters long. Part of the courtly ceremonial music in Uganda was an ensemble of several transverse trumpets ( amak special ). Some of the ama specials , consisting of pumpkin and animal horn, have a finger hole and can produce two tones. They used to be blown only on significant occasions such as the inauguration of a new ruler ( omukama ). Comparable ensembles also had ritual functions at the courts of other realms in the inter-lake area. In South Africa there were isolated ensembles with several antelope horns phalaphala . In the reed flute dance tshikona of the Venda in South Africa, up to 20 single-tone flutes ( nanga ) produce the melody.

Style of play

Waza players at a major street festival in Ethiopia.

A waza orchestra consists of ten trumpet players who are divided into two groups of equal size and each of whom can only produce one note. The orchestra is led by the first trumpet; it is called wazalu , from waza alu, "head of the waza". Occasionally two smaller trumpets are added, called mušāhir . The trumpets are held from below with the outstretched left hand, while the right hand reaches over the upper end of the tube. The musicians themselves produce the accompanying rhythm by hitting their trumpets one to five with pieces of branches ( bali ) hanging over their right shoulders. The others use cow horns ( bulung ) for this . The seventh trumpeter uses the calabash rattle asoso (or asezaghu ). Four to six dancers wear rattles ( atitish ) on their legs, which consist of the dried capsules of the tree fruit of the same name. In this way they ensure the beat, at times they form the choir.

At the beginning, a woman sings a song once or twice so that the trumpeters can get into the melody. Then the wazalu player begins by giving the basic beat with the branch piece ( bali ) and then playing his trumpet tone in a rhythmic sequence. The second trumpeter organizes a cross-rhythmic structure through his tone sequence , which is overlaid by the other players. The point at which the trumpeters start is decisive, which has to be practiced several times for new pieces. The two groups are divided into high and low sounding instruments, they do not always play exactly together. Nevertheless, a flowing rhythm emerges, which Gerhard Kubik compared to swing .

Cultural meaning

Berta's music can be divided into five categories: songs for entertainment are accompanied by the five-string lyre abangaran . Several flutes ( bolo ) characterize the musical style bolo shuru . The music of the flutes bal ( bol ) and the kettle drums naggaro ( negero ) is called bal naggaro ( bol negero ). A typical bal naggaro ensemble consists of 19 flutes and a kettle drum, to which two waza can be added. The hokke harvest festival has its own dance songs.

The waza orchestras, which were originally status symbols of the rulers and only played on ritual occasions, occupy a special place . In this function, Berta's calabash trumpets are related to the long, slender trumpets, which in northern Islamized Africa serve to represent the king or the tribal chief and announce his presence. These include the Hausa metal trumpet kakaki , the two meter long brass trumpet kankangui in Benin , the malakat made of wood or metal in Ethiopia and the Moroccan nafir made of brass or copper. All of the trumpets mentioned are valveless and produce a maximum of two tones.

Today the performances of the waza orchestras represent a solemn event for the village population and usually take place after sunset in the central square.

Discography

  • Music of the Berta from the Blue Nile, Sudan. CD published by Artur Simon. Museum Collection Berlin / Wergo. SM 17082, 2002
  • Sudan II - Music of the Blue Nile Province; The Ingessana and Berta Tribes. CD of the UNESCO Collection, Bärenreiter / Musicaphon BM 30 SL 2313, 1986

literature

  • Artur Simon : An example for the music of Berta on the Blue Nile, Sudan (2002). In: Ders .: Ethnomusicology. Aspects, methods and goals. Simon Verlag für Bibliothekswissen, Berlin 2008, pp. 78–80
  • Artur Simon: Sudan . In: Stanley Sadie (Ed.): The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians . Vol. 24. Macmillan Publishers, London 2001, p. 656

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Instruments, musical. In: Siegbert Uhlig (Ed.): Encyclopaedia Aethiopica . Vol. 3. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2007, p. 170
  2. ↑ Jos Gansemann, Barbara Schmidt-Wrenger: Central Africa. Volume 1: Ethnic Music. Delivery 9. VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1982, p. 172
  3. ^ Royal Court Music from Uganda 1950 & 1952. Ganda, Nyoro, Ankole. Recordings by Hugh Tracey . International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Grahamstone, South Africa. CD 1998, tracks 18, 19
  4. ^ Gerhard Kubik: Theory of African Music. Vol. 2, University of Chicago Press, London 2010, p. 51
  5. ↑ Timkehet Teffera: The Role of Traditional Music Among East African Societies: The Case of Selected Aero Phones. In: ICTM Study Group on Folk Musical Instruments. Proceedings from the 16th International Meeting. Tautosakos darbai XXXII, Vilnius 2006, pp. 36–49, here p. 40