Interpretation of music in Zambia: nearness
Interpretation of music in Zambia: nearness.
Drumming for a patient shortly after the arrival of the shing’anga is not unusual in cases of severe symptoms, especially when there is no immediate reaction to the applied herbs. Sometimes, when herbs do not work during treatment, the shing’anga will begin singing, without drums, to enhance their efficacy.
Mika Mwape Chungwa ∵ personal communication, 1986.
I do not use music or dance in treating cases other than those related to possession. The singing is intended to draw the spirits nearer, so that they reveal themselves more quickly. In the Cibombe we had yesterday, the patients (mwana) were treated this way; they could also have brought songs themselves but this time they did not.
Sheki Mbomba ∵ personal communication, 1986.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ prohibition of their members attending occasions where the spirit-possessed are present, is based on the fear of possession ‘jumping-over’. This gradual onset of possession is especially potent through singing and watching dancing.
Mika Mwape Chungwa ∵ personal communication, 1986.
Photo 76 ∵ Near to the drums
A possession patient as close as possible to the drums at a Cibombe in 1986.
Interpretation of music in Zambia: nearness. One of the few generally acknowledged features of music in Chibale is that the physical nearness (kupalamina) of music heightens its effectiveness. This is not always expressed in a positive sense; quite a few express it by staying away from spirit possession music for fear it will affect them.
Photo 77 ∵ Near to the drums
A medium (bamukaNdubeni) being as close as possible to the master drum at a Cibombe in 1986.
It should not be forgotten that songs are a product brought from the mpanga without human interference in their making. They are comparable with the honey, the meat, and the medicines that come from the mpanga. Look at medicines. They are taken from certain places in the mpanga and, when used to cure a person, bring him into nearness with that place and its features. Medicines lying in the village before being used are similar to cilaila, just singing songs. When they are sung in full preparedness, they bring the mpanga near the place where they are sung.
Alube Mika ∵ personal communication, 2007.