Forest People

I feel like the most unexpect song from our anthology was the BaAka Mabo song Makala. I say this because to the untrained ear, or to someone who isn’t paying close attention, the first thing that comes to mind is Native American music. That’s one of the first things that came to my mind as I was listening anyway.  The song is polyphonic with different layers of yodeling, chanting, singing, and yelling at all different intervals. Even though the song seems to be chaotic, improvisatory, and like none of the themes or melodies blend together, there is a sort of harmony between all the parts. The first image that came to my mind was the cultural Native American dance video we watched the other day in class (sorry I forgot the specific name!!).  In that video everyone seemed to be singing and dancing in their own little world - so to speak. But there was one sole purpose during the song and dance. One idea that was universal for all of them that made the piece come together. I think that is the same for Makala as well.  I found it very interesting how similar these songs actually are in terms of them both being cultural songs and dances where everyone in the whole tribe participates. Not everyone may be dancing or singing in the Native American piece as they are in the Makala, but everyone is there and engaged.  These cultures have probably never crossed paths so it is fascinating to see and listen to how similar the pieces may or may not seem to be.  It makes me wonder if then, there was a third party that crossed their paths and had some sort of influence or has an answer as to why these groups are reminiscent of  one another.