Ceremonial music from the rainforest of Indonesia. The songs were recorded during Hari Natal and New Year's celebrations. The sounds themselves are rich with vowel tones and call/response patterns. Any one of the singers may begin the next chant as the previous song ends, creating a sense of...
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Ceremonial music from the rainforest of Indonesia. The songs were recorded during Hari Natal and New Year's celebrations. The sounds themselves are rich with vowel tones and call/response patterns. Any one of the singers may begin the next chant as the previous song ends, creating a sense of continuity and timelessness.
The Dani music and song reflect every aspect of their lives from the sadness of a burning house to the fiery spirit of ancient warrior ways. Running dances rhythmically accompany all-night ceremonial singing during feast times. People dance in lines, running back and forth the length of the ceremonial village bounded by thatched dwellings. In some songs, a group of singers huddle in the middle and the others run circles around them.
The Dani and Lani men fashion a simple bamboo instrument used as a mouth harp that they carry in a pierced and stretched ear hole. This traditional instrument is a mere sliver of bamboo that creates rich tones and changing rhythms resulting from the musician's mouth and breath. A small wooden ukelele is also played by both Dani and Lani during festivities.
The power and strength of elder women is fully revered within the tribal hierarchy. They dance wildly, their grass skirts tucked up between their legs, buttocks bare.
In Asmat the drums are carved with figures and topped with crocodile skin. Drummers warm their instrument after each chant in a fire started from cinder. The head singer starts the chant and the others join in. Line dances take place in a long feasthouse newly erected. The floor is sprung and bounces, creating a dimension of fun. The sound of the conch guides the lines, four to six people deep, as they move through the hut, bobbing elbows and knees.
All proceeds from the sale of this recording go directly to the tribal people who made this music.
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