By Dr. Timkehet Teferra

Dr. Timkehet Teferra is an Ethiopian ethnomusicologist who has been researching musical cultures for the past 20 years with a focus on Ethiopian and East African music. Below is an abstract of the article as titled above. The full version including annotations, references and additional illustrations is available here in PDF format .

Abstract

This article chiefly discusses the traditional secular music of the Harari community residing in the Harari People's National Regional State, one of the nine Ethiopian administrative regions (Kələloč). In doing so musical styles such as Saley, Ğaliyei and Dersi and their distinct features (melody, rhythm, and lyric) will be taken into closer consideration. Harari songs that may be performed as solo, duo or group songs are accordingly classified to these basic musical styles accordingly. It is among other things worth to note that songs sung in duo or group mainly reveal peculiar characteristics that are totally unknown in the music cultures of other Ethiopian communities. This phenomenon shows the close historical link of the Harari with neighbouring Arabian countries since early periods.

Harari songs may be performed with or without instrumental accompaniment. For historical reasons music instruments played are not only very limited but they are completely non-melodic instruments. This refers to double and single-headed and variously sized drums, Käräbu, wooden clappers called Käbäl and frame drums, Däf.

This article also explores the present state of the Harari secular music in which primarily women are playing a significant role in maintaining it than their male folks. It is obvious that music is inseparably connected with the everyday life of a community. Non-musical factors such as social, cultural, historical and religious circumstances are always the reason for musical change, because music is a reflection of these phenomena. What is the cause for this perceptible musical transition in the today’s Harari society?

Comments (0)