Gerhard Kubik

Dr. David Kenneth Rycroft, 7 December 1924 - 8 August 1997

The shocking news reached me on a bright September 1997 morning, just as we were struggling to get our suitcases through the door of our hostel at Columbia College, Center for Black Music Research, Chicago where we had had a delightful two-month period of work. Our good friend Johann Buis had arrived to take us to O’Hare airport for the flight to Europe, with a letter in his hand. The promising letter came from GROVE, London. It was by Stanley Sadie, and dated 1 September 1997. My vision blurred when I read these sentences: “I expect you heard the sad news of David Rycroft’s death. This is very sad, and will make it more difficult for us to have the ideal coverage of South Africa that we had been aiming at.”

Research project on “Systems of traditional education in Malawi” (the continuation: September 1983 to February 1984) by Dr. Gerhard Kubik

Since my first report on the research in Mangochi District July/August 1983 (see: African Music, Vol.VI No.3 pp. 132-137) our team, now comprising four members: Mr Moya Aliya (cultural research student), Mr Donald Kachamba (musician) and Miss Lidiya Malamusi (assistant) besides myself, has been able to continue studies in more districts. These were carried out with permission granted in a letter by the Secretary of the National Research Council, Lilongwe, dated Nov. 16, 1983.

Music in Uganda: a brief report

We recorded several pan-pipe ensembles (EnkwanyJ) formed by rather young people in all sorts of social positions. (One excellent player and leader of a group turned out to be a bus conductor during day time). We also recorded an orchestra of eight gourd horns (Amagwara) near Kamuli. Amagwara have been recorded in the past by Hugh Tracey and I was extremely satisfied to see that such groups still exist. Among numerous songs we recorded a famous one called Waiswa mugudde. This title was already recorded by Hugh Tracey in the fifties during his visit to Busoga.

Recording and studying music in Northern Mozambique. (With drawings and photograph by Helmut Hillegeist)

The present paper is a modest attempt to fill in one of the blank spots on our ethno- musicological map of East Africa. It cannot be more than a preliminary superficial account of music and musical instruments in the wide territory of Northern Mozambique. Further research trips will have to be done in the coming years in order to check all the information that was given to me, and to collect more material, so that we may gain a more extensive knowledge of the area. Many problems and questions have been raised in this paper. They can only be solved through intensive analytical and comparative studies of the present and additional material. The author would be glad, in this context, if he could be informed of any other recordings of music from Northern Mozambique that have been made or are being made. There remains still much of the collected material to study. In particular, an analysis of the 8 mm film strips, together with a detailed analysis of all the tape recordings, will give us plenty of further insight.

Generic names for the Mbira. (A Contribution to Hugh Traceys article A Case for the name Mbira)

During three research trips in fourteen countries of Sub-Saharan Africa I have quite often met and recorded this instrument. Incited through Hugh Traceys extensive list I should like to provide some names from the regions I have visited, as a supplement. After that, we shall try to see what conclusions might be drawn from the various names given in the combined lists

Discovery of a Trough Xylophone in Northern Mozambique

The discovery of a trough xylophone near Lake Chilwa in Northern Mozambique might be of some interest to students of relations between Indonesian and African Music.would like if my short article could be taken as a travellers account only and not as the expression of any attitude towards a particular theory.It was by chance that we came to find Mario Santu, player of a trough xylophone on the 4th of October, 1962, some 2 kms. east of a small place called Chitambo on the road from Milango to Molumbo.Arriving at the house, I saw a large trough xylophone standing in the shade of the grass roof and the owner and player, a man of perhaps 35 years, saluted us.The kind of xylophone played by Mario is called Mambira2, according to his own indication and that of many other people at Chitambo. It had seventeen keys of a light coloured wood. The keys were placed over a trough-like resonator, which, however, was not one piece of wood, but consisted of five parts nailed together.