Music and Diasporas within West Africa: The Pre-colonial Era

Abstract

Although historical studies on African music date to the twentieth century, particularly idioms that developed in the colonial and postcolonial eras, minimal music research has focused on diasporas within Africa and even fewer studies are concerned with the precolonial era. Yet, music scholars are not the only ones guilty of this omission. In The African Diaspora (1996), Alusine Jalloh explains: "Despite the availability of good studies on trading diasporas in Africa, more research is needed to explore the internal and cross-boundary mercantile activities of ethnic groups with a long history of migration on the continent." Oliver Bakewell's comments in African Diaspora (2008) are also noteworthy: "Ironically, within the growing volume of literature on African diasporas, very little of it is concerned with diasporas whose population is based on the continent. Africa is portrayed as a continent which generates diasporas rather than one in which diasporas can be found." The paucity of music material on diasporas within Africa raises several questions. Why do we ignore precolonial political and cultural constructs that developed on the continent? Is it because of the lack of sources, the complexity of the topic, or the fact that we believe precolonial polities have little to offer the discussion of performance culture or issues (i.e., globalization, identity) of importance today? In my opinion, part of the problem lies in our perception of Africa. Many music researchers do not regard precolonial Africa as a continent with empires, nations, or societies with far-reaching extensions, but instead, as a place with insulated communities and few connections. Because of our focus on discrete, isolated African groups, we do not know why and how musical traditions were dispersed and maintained for hundreds of years nor do we understand the processes that contributed to differences and similarities. Continuing research on African music history begun by Klaus Wachsmann, Kwabena Nketia, and others, in this paper, my primary objective is to explore music and diasporic movements in West Africa during the precolonial era. Specifically, I will address the following: (1) If intra-African diasporas exist, when and how did they form? (2) How are they similar or different from diasporas outside Africa? (3) How has music (in the homeland and host area) been affected by diasporic movements? (4) What can the music of diasporas within Africa during precolonial times tell us about African musicking outside the continent in modern times?