Sound Clip from Encarta
Traditional Drum Music of Benin Traditional Drum Music of Benin
Ritual Healing Music of Malawi Ritual Healing Music of Malawi
 

Ritual Healing Music of Malawi

Ritual Healing Music of Malawi
This media item will not play in the Internet software you are currently using.
In many African cultures music and dance are important parts of religious and healing rituals. Among the Tumbuka-speaking peoples of northern Malawi, tribal healers use drumming and dancing methods to diagnose and cure a variety of ailments. Assembled in the healer’s compound, or temple, drummers play special drum rhythms and singers sing songs to “heat up” the spirits, or vimbuza, and allow the healer to go into a divinatory trance. The healer dances to the music to “cool down” the vimbuza, identifying him and the source of the patient’s illness so he can begin the curing process.
Courtesy of Steve Friedson. All rights reserved.
Appears in these articles:
Music; Africa; African Religions; Medicine Man; African Music; Malawi; Animism
* Exclusively for MSN Encarta Premium Subscribers. Join Now
Advertisement

Englishtown: Learn English online
Encarta RSS Feeds
© 2008 Microsoft