KW on Music Theory Print

Kwaito

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The word kwaito originates from the South African slang “kwaai,” which conveys the meaning of “cool” or “bad” in a positive context. The term “kwaai” itself is rooted in Afrikaans, where it initially signified “angry” or “fierce.” However, within the framework of South African youth culture, its connotation had shifted to represent something fashionable or noteworthy. Kwaito led a post-Apartheid township subculture into the mainstream despite the fact that the Afrikaans language is associated with the apartheid regime and racial oppression, Afrikaans words are often drawn into the Sabela and Tsotsitaal and Camtho vocabularies, reshaped and used in a related or new context. M’du Masilela, a pioneering kwaito artist, said, “When house music got popular, people from the ghetto called it Kwaito after the Afrikaans slang word kwai , meaning those house tracks were hot, that they were kicking.” An Isicamtho word derived from the Afrikaans word kwaai is amakwaitosi, which means gangster. Arthur Mafokate described the relationship between kwaito and gangsterism as music revolving around ghetto life.

Kwakwakaʼwakw music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Kwakwaka’wakw dancing societies#

There are four main groups of Kwakwaka’wakw dancing societies since ancient times: Hamatsa (“Cannibal”), Winalagilis (“Making War All Over the Earth”), The ceremony is intended to recreate the original encounter with the ancient spirit. Each society delegates a song master to invent and memorize songs for all members of the respective society. Unlike other social positions, the song master is not an inherited position, but is chosen for his talent in creating and remembering songs. The song master is even paid for his services, creating and memorizing from one to four songs for every novice initiate. Children of song masters are placed inside a drum, and the father sings and beats the drum in sequences of four to try and pass down his talent.

Kwela

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origin#

The most common explanation for the word “kwela” is that it is taken from the Zulu for “climb”, though in township slang it also referred to police vans, the “kwela-kwela”. Thus, it could be an invitation to join the dance, as well as serving as a warning. It is said that the young men who played the pennywhistle on street corners also acted as lookouts to warn those enjoying themselves in the shebeens of the arrival of the police. White people, unaware of its meaning, then thought that it referred to the music when they heard people shouting “Here comes the kwela, kwela!” warning of the police’s presence. Kwela music was influenced by blending the music of Malawian immigrants to South Africa with the local South African sounds. In Chichewa, “kwela” has a similar meaning to the South African one: “to climb”. The music was popularised in South Africa and then brought to Malawi, where contemporary Malawian artists have also begun producing kwela music. others maintain that there is no specific kwela chord progression, or that I-IV-V-I and I-I-IV-V are particularly prevalent.