Yoruba Bata Goes Global : Artists, Culture Brokers, and Fans

by Klein, Debra L.

• ISBN13: 9780226439556
• ISBN10: 0226439550
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-10-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Responding to growing international interest in the Yoruba culture of southwestern Nigeria, practitioners of bataa centuries-old drumming, dancing, and singing traditionhave recast themselves as traditional performers in a global market. As the Nigerian market for ritual bata has been declining, international opportunities for performance have grown. Debra L. Klein's lively ethnography explores this disjunction, revealing the world of bata artists and the global culture market that helps to sustain their art. Yoruba Bata Goes Globaldescribes the dramatic changes and reinventions of traditional bata performance in recent years, showing how they are continually recreated, performed, and sold. Klein delves into the lives of Yoruba musicians, focusing on their strategic collaborations with artists, culture brokers, researchers, and entrepreneurs worldwide. And she explores how reinvigorated performing ensembles are beginning to parlay success on the world stage into increased power and status within Nigeria. Klein's study of the interwoven roles of innovation and tradition will interest scholars of African, global, and cultural studies, anthropology, and ethnomusicology alike.

Author Biography

Debra L. Klein is professor of anthropology at Gavilan College in California.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Reality

The Making of a Yorùbá Culture Movement

àmídì àyánkúnlé: Father of Foreign Lands

Sculpting ... "ogbo: Strategic Collaborations among Yorùbá Artists and Three Germanic Culture Brokers

Managing the Gap between Local and Global Stakes in Yorùbá Tradition

Pop Tradition: I Am Always Me

Antipolitics of Collaboration

Conclusion: Transgressing Reality

Appendix

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

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