Mbira - hudební tradice zimbabwshého etnika Shona

Abstract

In the traditional music of the Shona in Zimbabwe we often encounter a musical instrument called mbira. Throughout the country, it occurs in various forms. Generally speaking, it is a small instrument which consists of number of flat and flared metal strips (lamellae) fastened to a wooden board with a rod secured behind the board with a wire or nuts and bolts. It is held in two hands and played by plucking the reeds by thumbs and index fingers. The present study primarily aims to introduce the Shona musical tradition and the instrument mbira in both organological and anthropological points of view. In my description, I particularly concentrate on the type mbira dzaVadzimu, which plays an important role in the Shona religious ceremonies. The analytical part of my thesis deals chiefly with the rhythmic-harmonic structure of mbira pieces. In appendix, I show a set of mbira music transcriptions in my own variant of tablature and photo documentation taken during my study stay in South Africa. The basic sources of my information are my own experiences from southern Africa (mainly the personal contact with the Shona mbirists) and the literature listed at the end of the thesis. The ethnic group now classified as "Shona" originated from Bantu settlement of the high fertile plateau between the Limpopo and Zambezi...

V tradicni hudbe pro mbiru dzaVadzimu, ktera se provadi pri nabozensk)1ch ritualech mapira, lze vysledovat obecne principy hudby platne na vetsine uzemi subsaharske Afriky. lednim z jejich priznacnych rysu je tzv. "interlocking," ktery vznika napr. komplementarnim dopliiovanim partu kushaura a kutsinhira, kombinaci patternu chlestidel hosho s vytleskavanymi rytmy makwa nebo propletanfm melodii hranych stridave na vsechny rejstriky mbiry. Vyslednou polyfonii a polyrytmii charakterizuje bohatost a barevnost zvuku. Stejne jako u dalSich bantusk)1ch kmenu panuje u Shonu esteticka preference huste se prekryvajicich struktur a hojneho zapojeni drncivych a chlestivych elementu. Dusledkem simultanniho vrstveni patternu dualnich a ternarnich vznika znacna rytmicka komplexita. Hudebni systemy subsaharske Afriky vesmes stavejf sve hudebnf formy na zaklade ostinatnich cyklickych patternu, ktere pri svem opakovani podlehaji rozmanitemu varirovanL Z vysoke miry uplatiiovani principu variace a improvizace vyplyva i jedna ze zakladnich vlastnosti africke hudby: pri katde hudebnf produkci vznika unikMni hudebni dilo. A nejinakje tomu i u hudby shonske. Provozovanf hudby je interaktivnim procesem, do nehoz se podle konkretnich zvyklosti daneho kmene zapojuje cela shromazdena spolecnost. S eim se ovsem u jinych hudebnich...