Sunday, December 9, 2018

Ethiopian Music

The music of Ethiopia is extremely diverse, with each of the country's ethnic groups being associated with unique sounds. Some forms of traditional music are strongly influenced by folk music from elsewhere in the Horn of Africa, especially Somalia. However, Ethiopian religious music also has an ancient Christian element, traced to Yared, who lived during the reign of Gabra Masqal. In northeastern Ethiopia, in Wollo, a Muslim musical form called manzuma developed in 1907. Sung in Amharic, manzuma has spread to Harar and Jimma, where it is now sung in the Oromo language. In the Ethiopian Highlands, traditional secular music is played by itinerant musicians called azmari (Zageth), who are regarded with both suspicion and respect in Ethiopian society.

Chordophones

AerophonesIn the highlands, traditional string instruments include the masenqo (also known as masinko), a one-string bowed lute; the krar (also known as kirar), a six-string lyre; and the begena, a large ten-string lyre. The dita (a five-string lyre) and musical bows (including an unusual three-string variant) are among the chordophones found in the south. Also "kebero" ( a drum) used by the religious group like Orthodox's or other Christian religious group to praise what they believe in.
The washint is a bamboo flute that is common throughout or in the highlands. Trumpet like instruments include the ceremonial malakat used in some regions, and the holdudwa (animal horn; compare shofar) found mainly in the south. Embilta flutes have no finger holes, and produce only two tones, the fundamental and a fourth or fifth interval. These may be metal (generally found in the north) or bamboo (in the south). The Konso and other people in the south play fanta, or pan flutes.

Mansko

Kirar

Begena


Idiophones

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, liturgical music employs the senasel, a sistrum. Additionally, the clergy will use prayer staffs, or maqwamiya, to maintain rhythm. Rural churches historically used a dawal, made from stone slabs or pieces of wood, in order to call the faithful to prayer. The Beta Israel use a small gong called a qachel as liturgical accompaniment, though qachel may also refer to a small bell. The toom, a lamellophone, is used among the Nuer, Anuak, Majangir, Surma, and other Nilo-Saharan groups. Metal leg rattles are common throughout the south.

Membranophones

The kebero (ከበሮ) is a large hand drum used in the Orthodox Christian liturgy. Smaller kebero drums may be used in secular celebrations. The nagarit (ነጋሪት), played with a curved stick, is usually found in a secular context such as royal functions or the announcement of proclamations, though it has a liturgical function among the Beta Israel. The Gurage and other southern peoples commonly play the atamo, a small hand drum sometimes made of clay.

Popular music

Ethiopia is a musically traditional country. Popular music is played, recorded and listened to, but most musicians also sing traditional songs, and most audiences choose to listen to both popular and traditional styles. A long-standing popular musical tradition in Ethiopia was that of brass bands, imported from Jerusalem in the form of forty Armenian orphans (Arba Lijoch) during the reign of Haile Selassie. This band, which arrived in Addis Ababa on September 6, 1924, became the first official orchestra of Ethiopia. By the end of World War II, large orchestras accompanied singers; the most prominent orchestras were the Army Band, Police Band, and Imperial Bodygu ard Band. Most of these bands were trained by Europeans or Armenians.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Ethiopian popular musicians included Bizunesh Bekele, Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, Hirut Bekele, Ali Birra, Ayalew Mesfin, Kiros Alemayehu, Muluken Melesse and Tilahun Gessesse, while popular folk musicians included Alemu Aga, Kassa Tessema, Ketema Makonnen, Asnaketch Worku, and Mary Armede. Perhaps the most influential musician of the period, however, was Ethio-jazz innovator Mulatu Astatke. Amha Records, Kaifa Records, and Philips-Ethiopia were prominent Ethiopian record labels during this era. Since 1997, Buda Musique's Éthiopiques series has compiled many of these singles and albums on compact disc.
During the 1980s, the Derg controlled Ethiopia, and emigration became almost impossible. Musicians during this period included Ethio Stars, Wallias Band and Roha Band, though the singer Neway Debebe was most popular. He helped to popularize the use of Sem ena Worq (wax and gold, a poetic form of double entendre) in music (previously only used in qiné, or poetry) that often enabled singers to criticize the government without upsetting the censors.

Contemporary scene

Currently the most prominent Ethiopian singer internationally is Gigi. Through her performing with top jazz musicians such as Bill Laswell (who is also her husband) and Herbie Hancock, Gigi has brought Ethiopian music to popular attention, especially in the United States, where she now lives.Popular musicians from Ethiopia include internationally renowned and recognized artists such as the Los Angeles area expatriate Aster Aweke, The Weeknd and Teddy Afro, who is often accredited with the fusion of Rastafarian styles into mainstream Ethiopian music.More recently, music from Tigray and Eritrea has become popular in Ethiopia and among exiles, especially in Italy. One of the biggest new trends, however, has been the rise of bolel, a sort of blues-like music, played by sarcastic azmari playing in parts of Addis Ababa, especially Yohannès Sefer and Kazentchis. Bolel musicians include Tigist Assefa, Tedje and Admassou Abate.
Other popular performers include Tewodros Tadesse, Neway Debebe, Tadesse Alemu, Hamelmal Abate, Martha Ashagari, Yohannes Berhanu, Kuku Sebsebe, Aster Aweke, and Manalemosh Dibo. Neway was very popular among the youth of the 1980s and early 1990s with such songs as "Yetekemt Abeba," "Metekatun Ateye," "Safsaf," and "Gedam," among others. Abatte Barihun has exemplified all four main qenets on his 2005 album Ras Deshen.
Éthiopiques producer Francis Falceto criticizes contemporary Ethiopian music for eschewing traditional instruments and ensemble playing in favor of one-man bands using synthesizers. Harvard University professor Kay Kaufman Shelemay, on the other hand, maintains that there is genuine creativity in the contemporary music scene. She further points out that Ethiopian music is not alone in shifting to electronically produced music, a point that Falceto acknowledg

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Recent Articles

  • Ethiopia: 75-Year-Old Civilian Brutally Murdered in Church by Abiy Ahmed Regime’s Forces
     In a shocking and disturbing incident, 75-year-old Mr. Fentaw Derbew, a civilian, was brutally murdered while attending a mass at Kobo Michael Church in Raya Kobo Woreda, North Wollo Zone in Ethiopia. According to eyewitnesses and sources, Mr. Fentaw Derbew was killed by the Abiy Ahmed...
    July-27 - 2025 | More »
  • Ethiopian Health Professionals Association Urges Govt to Promptly Respond to Health Workers' Demands Amid Pre-Strike Demonstrations
     Dagmawi Melnilik Hospital, which was later upgraded to a referral hospital, is the nation’s first hospital, built in 1909.Addis Standard (Addis Ababa)As health professionals across Ethiopia stage pre-strike demonstrations demanding improved salaries, benefits, and working conditions, the...
    May-13 - 2025 | More »
  • Commentary: Why Ethiopian university lecturers' strike failed: A cautionary tale for health professionals
     The moment of release of the detained teachers’ coordinators, greeted by fellow teachers awaiting their return. Photo: Provided by the writerIn 2022, Ethiopian university lecturers launched a year-long social media campaign  and subsequent threat for indefinite...
    May-13 - 2025 | More »
  • ሰባት ኢትዮጵያውያን ስደተኞችን ወደ ባሕሩ ጣሏቸው'፡ ትኩረት ያላገኘው የስደት መንገድ
     መሐመድ አብዱላሂ ሞሐሙድ 35 ዓመቱ ነው።ከጂቡቲ ወደ የመን በጀልባ ያደረገውን የስደት ጉዞ አይረሳውም። በ20ዎቹ ዕድሜ ሳለ ነበር የተሰደደው።ሶማሊያን ጥሎ የወጣው የተሻለ ሕይወት ፍለጋ ነበር።ከአፍሪካ ወደ የመን የሚደረገው ስደተኞች የሚጓዙበት መንገድ 'ምሥራቃዊው ኮሪደር' በሚል ይታወቃል።በብዛት ስደተኞች ከሚጓዙባቸው መንገዶች አንደኛው ነው። እምብዛም ግን ትኩረት አላገኘም።ይህ መንገድ በጣም አደገኛው እንደሆነም መሐመድ ይናገራል።"መንገድ ጀምረን 30 ደቂቃ...
    May-08 - 2025 | More »
  • ሐኪም በመሆኔ ያተረፍኩት ድኅነትን ነው" የኢትዮጵያ ጤና ባለሙያዎች እሮሮ እና ጥያቄ
     የደሞዝ እና የጥቅማ ጥቅም ጥያቄ ያነሱ የጤና ባለሙያዎች መንግሥት ለጥያቄዎቻቸው ምላሽ የማይሰጥ ከሆነ የሥራ ማቆም አድማ እንደሚመቱ ተናገሩ።ባለሙያዎቹ ጥያቄዎቻቸውን ለመንግሥት ማቅረባቸውን የተናገሩ ሲሆን፤ ምላሽ እንዲሰጣቸውም የ30 ቀናት ቀነ ገደብ ከሰጡ ሳምንታት ተቆጥረዋል።የጤና ባለሙያዎቹ "መኖር አቅቶናል" ያሉ ሲሆን፤ በተለያዩ መንገዶች ድምፃቸውን እያሰሙ ነው።ሐኪም ለመሆን 23 ዓመታትን በትምህርት እንዳሳለፉ ለቢቢሲ የተናገሩት ዶ/ር ይማም እንድሪስ...
    May-08 - 2025 | More »
  • በአዳማ ከተማ እየተካሄደ ነው ስለሚባለው 'አፈሳ' የነዋሪዎች ስጋት
     ከሁለት ሳምንት በፊት ጀምሮ በኦሮሚያ የተለያዩ አካባቢዎች ወጣቶች ከመንገድ እየታፈሱመሆናቸውን ወላጆች፣ ወጣቶች እና ፖለቲከኞች በተለያዩ ማኅበራዊ ሚዲያዎች ላይ እየገለፁ ነው።ቢቢሲ ያነጋገራቸው የከተማ ነዋሪዎችም በግዳጅ የታፈሱ ወጣቶችን እንደሚያውቁ እና እነርሱም ባለባቸው ስጋት የተነሳ ድንገት ከተያዝን በሚል "ገንዘብ ይዘው እንደሚንቀሳቀሱ" ተናግረዋል።ቢቢሲ ከአዲስ አበባ አንድ መቶ ኪሎ ሜትር ያህል ርቃ በምትገኘው በአዳማ ከተማ የሚገኝ እና ከመንገድ ላይ...
    May-05 - 2025 | More »
  • ሰባት ኢትዮጵያውያን ስደተኞችን ወደ ባሕሩ ጣሏቸው'፡ ትኩረት ያላገኘው የስደት መንገድ
     መሐመድ አብዱላሂ ሞሐሙድ 35 ዓመቱ ነው።ከጂቡቲ ወደ የመን በጀልባ ያደረገውን የስደት ጉዞ አይረሳውም። በ20ዎቹ ዕድሜ ሳለ ነበር የተሰደደው።ሶማሊያን ጥሎ የወጣው የተሻለ ሕይወት ፍለጋ ነበር።ከአፍሪካ ወደ የመን የሚደረገው ስደተኞች የሚጓዙበት መንገድ 'ምሥራቃዊው ኮሪደር' በሚል ይታወቃል።በብዛት ስደተኞች ከሚጓዙባቸው መንገዶች አንደኛው ነው። እምብዛም ግን ትኩረት አላገኘም።ይህ መንገድ በጣም አደገኛው እንደሆነም መሐመድ ይናገራል።"መንገድ ጀምረን 30 ደቂቃ...
    May-05 - 2025 | More »
  • Ethiopia’s civil war: what’s behind the Amhara rebellion?
     Ethiopia is in the grip of a civil war between federal government forces and the Fano, a loose alliance of ethnic-based militia in the Amhara region.This conflict in Ethiopia’s north erupted less than a year after the devastating Tigray war, which ended in...
    Apr-28 - 2025 | More »
  • በቀን ከ14 ሺህ ቶን በላይ የዓሣ ምርት ከታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ እየተመረተ ነው!
     በቀን ከ14 ሺህ ቶን በላይ የዓሣ ምርት ከታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ እየተመረተ ነው!ከታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ በቀን ከ14 ሺህ ቶን በላይ የዓሣ ምርት የሚገኝበት አቅም መፈጠሩን በግብርና ሚኒስቴር ዓሣ ሀብት ልማት ዴስክ ሃላፊ ዶክተር ፋሲል ዳዊት ገለጹ። ኢትዮጵያ እምቅ የዓሣ ሀብት ቢኖራትም በተለያዩ ተግዳሮቶች ምክንያት በዘርፉ ተጠቃሚ ሳትሆን መቆየቷን በግብርና ሚኒስቴር ዓሣ ሀብት ልማት ዴስክ ሃላፊ ዶክተር ፋሲል ዳዊት ተናግረዋል። በሀገር ደረጃ...
    Mar-26 - 2025 | More »
  • የአፍሪካ ህብረት ኮሚሽን ሊቀመንበር ደፋር ማሻሻያዎችን እና አፍሪካን የሚመሩ መፍትሄዎችን ከፒአርሲ ጋር የመጀመሪያ ስብሰባ ላይ አሳሰቡ!
     የአፍሪካ ህብረት ኮሚሽን ሊቀመንበር ደፋር ማሻሻያዎችን እና አፍሪካን የሚመሩ መፍትሄዎችን ከፒአርሲ ጋር የመጀመሪያ ስብሰባ ላይ አሳሰቡ!የመጀመርያው የቋሚ ተወካዮች ኮሚቴ (PRC) እና አዲስ የተሾሙት የአፍሪካ ህብረት ኮሚሽን አመራር አባላት ዛሬ በአዲስ አበባ ተካሂደዋል። ስብሰባውን በኤች.ኢ. ማህሙድ አሊ የሱፍ፣ የAUC ሊቀመንበር እና ኤች.ኢ. በአፍሪካ ህብረት የአንጎላ ሪፐብሊክ ቋሚ ተወካይ እና የፒአርሲ ሊቀመንበር አምባሳደር ፕሮፌሰር ሚጌል ሴሳር...
    Mar-18 - 2025 | More »
  • ፀሐይ ባለበት የቫይታሚን D እጥረት ለምን?
     ለሰውነታችን ጠቃሚ የሆነው ቫይታሚን ዲ የሚገኘው በፀሐይ ጨረር አማካኝነት በተፈጥሮ ሂደት ነው። ኢትዮጵያ ዓመቱን ሙሉ የፀሐይ ብርሃንና ሙቀት የምታገኝ ሀገር ብትሆንም በቅርቡ የወጣ መረጃ ብዙዎች የቫይታሚን ዲ እጥረት እንዳለባቸው  ያመለክታል። ለምን ይሆን?ቫይታሚን ዲየቫይታሚን ዲ እጥረት በመላው ዓለም ሰዎች ላይ ስለሚታይ አሳሳቢ መሆኑ ይነገራል። በተለይ በዓመት ውስጥ የፀሐይ ብርሃንም ሆነ ሙቀቷን በውስን ወራት ብቻ በሚያገኙ የሰሜኑ ንፍቀ ክበብ...
    Mar-18 - 2025 | More »
  • "እንደ አሮጌ ምንጣፍ የተጣለ" - የቻይና መንግሥት ጋዜጣ የቪኦኤ በጀት እንዲቋረጥ መወሰኑን አወደሰ!
     የቻይና መንግሥት ጋዜጣ የአሜሪካው ፕሬዝንት ዶናልድ ትራምፕ የአሜሪካ ድምፅ (ቪኦኤ) በጀት እንዲቋረጥ መወሰናቸውን አወደሰ።የአሜሪካ ድምፅ (ቪኦኤ) እና ራድዮ ፍሪ እስያ (አርኤፍኤ) በቻይና መንግሥት ዙሪያ ለዓመታት ሲዘግቡ የቆዩ ሲሆን ትራምፕ የጣቢያዎቹ በጀት እንዲቀነስ ወስነዋል።ውሳኔው የተላለፈው ባለፈው አርብ ነው። 1300 የቪኦኤ ሠራተኞች በግዴታ እረፍት እንዲወጡ ተነግሯቸዋል።ተቺዎች ውሳኔው ዲሞክራሲን ወደኋላ የሚጎትት ነው ቢሉም ግሎባል ታይምስ...
    Mar-18 - 2025 | More »
  • Killings, abductions, funding shortfalls stifle WFP relief efforts across Ethiopia!
     Killings, abductions, funding shortfalls stifle WFP relief efforts across Ethiopia!Eight personnel dead as org. takes USD 30mln loan to sustain operationsThe World Food Program says security concerns are straining its ability to deliver crucial aid assistance in Ethiopia as no less than eight...
    Sept-15 - 2024 | More »
  • Ethiopia : Dialogue Commission wants gov’t to create “enabling condition
     Professor Mesfin Araya, Chief of the Dialogue Commission (Photo credit : DW Amharic)The National Dialogue Commission on Thursday presented its performance report to the parliament. Unusual about it was that this meeting took place in a hotel, not at the parliament building. The practice...
    June-30 - 2024 | More »
  • Struggles of High-Rise Living
     Located on the western outskirts of AddisAbaba, the Asko 40/60 condominium towers stand tall, promising a modern lifestyle but delivering a daily ordeal for its residents. Among them is Melat Kasa, a pregnant mother of two young children aged 4 and 6, who lives on the 13th floor. “I’ve been...
    June-30 - 2024 | More »
  • TPLF regains political legitimacy with Justice Ministry’s blessing
     NewsTPLF regains political legitimacy with Justice Ministry’s blessingThe Ministry of Justice has granted the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) the green light to register with the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) as a political party.Heads of the NEBE were informed of the...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • A father who lost 2 sons in a Boeing Max crash waits to hear if the US will prosecute the company
     Ike Riffel fears that instead of putting Boeing on trial, the government will offer the company another shot at corporate probationPhoto by: Jim Young/APProtesters hold photographs of victims of the 2019 Boeing Ethiopian Airlines crash, including Melvin Riffel, left.By: AP via Scripps...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • Ethiopia’s dam fills threaten Egypt’s lifeline: Calls for international intervention
     Adel Sadawi, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and former Dean of the Institute for Research and Strategic Studies on Nile Basin Countries, commented on Ethiopia’s announcement of its readiness to carry out the fifth filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • Fashion event brings Kanu, others to Ethiopia
     Former Nigerian national football team striker Nwankwo Kanu and other African former football players are in Addis Ababa to participate in the Shenen Africa Fashion Festival Week 2024Upon arrival at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, on Thursday Kanu was welcomed by Ethiopia’s...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • Economic, conflict spurring human trafficking in Ethiopia: US State Department
     NewsEconomic, conflict spurring human trafficking in Ethiopia: US State DepartmentYemeni Houthis forcing Ethiopian migrants into military serviceThe US Department of State commends the Ethiopian government’s efforts to combat human trafficking but urges that more needs to be done to eliminate...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »

Recent Video Uploads

Subscribe Ethiopia Today Videos and Watch on You Tube

Ethiopia Today

  • Active a minute ago with many
  •  
  •  videos
Ethiopia Today bringing you recent information about Ethiopia. It bring you, news, Amharic movies,  Musics and many clips. subscribe and get many Videos on time