The ‘’maraca’’ and the ‘’atambor’’ were the main contribution from the Amerindian ethnic groups to the early stage of the Cuban music.
Maracas a Taino instrument that is even use till today.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Maraca.jpg)
With the arrive of Christopher Columbus and the first colony by at Baracoa in 1511, more than 100,000 Spaniards start to flee to Cuba and domesticate the island. Local natives were enslaved and use as source of labour, but with new diseases and their exploitation allot of them died. Soon after that African slaves were brought on to the island.
African ethnic groups
‘By the 18th century, music in Cuba began to see the gradual transformation of distinctly European and African forms as the lines began to blur. However, African religious music was able to retain much of its direct links to Africa (as demonstrated in the Yoruban-derived Santería religion). The primary West African tribes brought to Cuba were the Yoruba, Congo and Dahomean peoples, and the results of their influence would shape the island's musical tapestry for centuries to come.’ (Source:http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/country/content.country/cuba_11)
Yoruba - Lucumi
The transformation of the island into the sugar plantation is linked to the slave trade and coincides with the collapse of the Oyo Empire of Nigeria. This lead to, many of the Yoruba taken to Cuba for slavery especially during the 1820 – 1840. On the Island, the Yoruba speakers became known by the term Lucumi which means ‘my friend’.
Among the ones that were taken there were a lineage that worshiped various believes and because of the slavery they were disrupted. From the gathered ‘believers’ a new religion has formed and was called the .
‘’It was developed out of necessity for the African slaves in order to continue practicing their native religion in the New World. As in all countries where the African slaves were taken, Cuban slave masters discouraged and sometimes prohibited the practice of their native religions.’’
(source: Lefever, Harry G. "When the Saints go riding in: Santería in Cuba and the United States," The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion , v35 n3 p.318)
During the initiation ceremony of the Santería music and dances were performed, with music the most important aspect. For the Lukumi the most sacred instrument is the trio of bata drums. The bata drums are played at the initiation ceremonies only and at the others like birthdays ceremonies ensemble of beaded gourds known as abwe or chekere are used.
( ) ( http://www.lafi.org/magazine/articles/batadrums.html)
‘’In Cuba, the batá consists of a set of three tapered cylinders of various sizes. Iyá, the largest, is referred to as 'mother drum. Itótele, the middle one, and Okónkolo, the smallest, are called 'father' and 'baby', respectively.’’
(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bata_drums)
After time, in Cuban culture the batá drums slowly became inducted and began to make broader uses. There first public broadcast was in 1935 over a Cuban radio for purpose of folklore music program. Since than the knowledge of the instrument was spreading and more and more artists start to incorporate the batá sounds into their music. Bata drums and rhythms influenced many Cuban music genres like jazz, timba and hip hop.
The chekere and abwe drums mentioned before were also part of the Lukumi music influence.
Chekere or abwe
(Source : www.musica.cult.cu/instrumentos/instrumentos/idio/aa.jpg)
Arará
Arará are the people in Cuba who came from Dahomey, today’s Benin Republic. The name Arara comes from the Dahomean city of Allada and is derived from the term Rada found in Haiti and formed to Arará on the small island of Carriacou.
The name refers to the Dahomean style of drumming which is distinctive to its style of music. It contains percussive style with characteristic body percussion and hand clapping. An iron bell called Ogan, hoe blade called guataca, cachimbo is a small drum with high pitch, a medium drum Mula, and Caja – large drum low pitch, are one of the most important instruments the Arara people use to create their own distinguish music that soon found their way into Cuban music genres.
Abakuá
-is a secret society created by men only, originated form the Cross River region of Nigeria and South western Cameroon.
‘...In eastern Cuba, two Carabalí cabildos still exist in the city of Santiago de Cuba, and play an important role in that city's carnival. The Abakuá leopard-masker, the íreme, has practically come to symbolize Afro-Cuban folklore.’( (source: http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/history.htm)
Íreme (a.k.a. Diablito)
(source: http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/history.htm)
There rythmic dance music combined with Bantu traditions of the Congo have contributed to one of Cuba’s very famous musical tradition, the Rumba.
Congo
During the years of slavery the greatest diversity of people that was brought to Cuba was created by the people of African origins from ‘’Kongo’’. The cabildos they formed had names taken from their ethnic designations and in many occasions there names were defining the ports like Loango, Benguela or Cabinda and specifying clan’s origins like Nsobo and Mayombe – Mayombe was also the name of the Cuban – Congo religion.
’Many forms of contemporary Cuban music, including many of the rumba and carnival styles, are full of Kongo references and influences and display continuity with older Kongo forms.... The most common form of secular Kongo music during the 19th century incorporated the use of Yuka drums. Played in groups of three, they were made by hollowing out tree trunk sections of various sizes and nailing on cowhide heads. A guataca is played as a time-keeper, and the caja player often wears a pair of wrist rattles.Yuka dancing featured the vacunao, a pelvic movement also found in Kongo-derived dance styles elsewhere in the Americas.’
(source: http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/history.htm)
The African slaves gave Cuban music their wooden variety of instruments, their use of satire, their polyrhythm and many more but far most important in my opinion the influencial attraction to dance that created the magnificent atmosphere of love and unity despite their fate. Till today the sound of son or rumba music echo the spiritual musicale sounds of their far great ancestors.
To conclude the African contribution to the Cuban music an instrument which controlled the rhythm in the mosaic mixture of the sound were the ‘claves’ – two thick, wooden sticks with a length approximately 20 to 30 cm. hit together they created a distinctive sound that led the musicians in setting the rhythm of the ‘performance’
(source: http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=claves&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2)
The claves although simple are used till today.
The Spaniards
Cuba stayed in Spanish possession for 388 years and within those years the Spanish culture influenced on Cuban people greatly, from converting the natives to Roman Christian church to importing slave workers from Africa who became 40% of the whole population.
‘Spanish roots in Cuba include the flamenco music and dance of southern Spain as well as regional country music, referred to as trova or música campesina. Spanish poetry, such as the 10-line décima, would form the heart of Latin American and Caribbean song, and would pave the way for popular Cuban styles such as the bolero and guajira.’
(http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/country/content.country/cuba_11)
main features of Spanish origin in Cuban music :
- Spanish string instruments introduce in about 16th century
Tres Tiple Banduria
(i) XVIII century tiranas, bolero and seguidillas
(ii) XIX century zapateo
- The Mediterranean tradition of singing octo-sylabic four line stanzas
Conclusion
Cuban music is a product of transculturation between Spanish peasant music and African derived drumming but for me its so powerful and inspirational, it is because of how its been evolving... in a process where despite the fate of the African slave the music is so joyful and yet tragic when looking through its past.
Bibliography
Books References
Nidel O. R - World Music: The Basics, Routledge, UK 2005
Roy M. - Cuban Music: From Son and Rumba to the Buena Vista Social Club and Timba Cubana, Wiener, UK 2002
Journals
Lefebvre, Harry G. "When the Saints go riding in: Santería in Cuba and the United States," The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Web References
Accessed on 15/05/07
http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com
http://www.musica.cult.cu
http://www.justsalsa.com
http://aris.ss.uci.edu/rgarfias/courses/latino/cuba1.html
http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/history.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org
Pictures
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/.../cuba_central_1919.jpg
http://www.google.com - image