Innovation: A measure for the control of cultural changes in the survival for the Luo thum traditions
Loading...
Date
2011
Authors
Orawo, C.N.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Academic Journals
Abstract
Thum
is amorphous because it has broadened its corpus to include not only the Luo lyre, but also
the fiddle, accordion and guitar musics unlike what
was before the coming of Europeans. The
introduction of the acquired instruments became a threat to the well
-
being of
thum
. To counteract
the threat,
thum
players adopted the trappings of the acquired instruments, reduced the size,
painted the resonator, a
nd tuned it to an octave higher than before. Further changes included the
introduction of the toe
-
ring, ankle
-
bells, transfer of the sound hole from the membrane to the back
of the resonator, change of costumes and the increased size of dance teams. The Eu
ropean way of
life offered a challenge to those members of society who refused to identify themselves with their
traditional cultures. The Catholics were moderate than the Protestants and most of the young
people attending Protestant schools had no respect
for their traditional cultures. In areas where
European influence was minimal, young people played and attended parties of
thum
performance.
The structure and meanings of the genres in the context of Luo society and culture reveal the
great influence of t
he Luo lyre on modern genres. However, the lyre has changed because of the
innovation of individuals. Although the similarities of styles may be due to the influence of a
common cultural tradition and music conventions, the peculiarities are partly determi
ned by
different instruments, the decisive factor in the distinctive style of the genres being the
composers’ own personality and individual creativity
Description
Keywords
Thum, Traditional Music, Musical Instruments, Performance, Music Genres, Western Culture, Luo Lyre, Jathum, African Rituals
Citation
International Journal of Current Research. 2011 Vol. 3, Issue 5, pp.160-164.