An introductory study of music among the Kera
Use of music in festivals and village life
Festivals
The g«gur is the new year for the Kera and the festival that goes with it is called the kir kitir. It is held at the end of October or the beginning of November, depending on the village. During this festival, a chicken is sacrificed and the d«mal drum is played to accompany dancing. The kelew horn is played leading up to the festival. It can be played in many ways with differing tuning, all on one note, with trills, or with more complicated melodies.
The agura men have a particular place in this festival, with a specific dance and song. The agura is a group of men (and a few women) who have learned songs, secrets, and dances during a time together away from the village. They then perform at some festivals, often dressed in leaves or other special clothes, and carrying sticks or spears. They are particularly seen at the g««gur and at occasions held in memory of the dead. The g««gur song is not sung in unison--groups of men will start to sing, then others begin singing at a different time and different pitch. The drum keeps going and provides the beat for all of them. The basic rhythms for the drum are:
There is an interval of a fourth between the two notes. The dance is performed almost at a running pace, but the men keep their left foot in front of their right foot all the time producing a kind of hop. The melody is as follows, sung to the single word ya:
The Maasa, Kera, and Tupuri all use this melody for the New Year festival, but the words change. It is not used at any other time. The name of the song and the dance is joriyon kayna, which is a Maasa phrase meaning 'here come the young people'.
The atal«wa is the harvest festival, which takes place in December. For this festival, the atal«wa flutes are played, as well as the parway flutes. The festival involves dancing and a sacrifice of goats and chickens. For this festival, the titir drum can be played by any man who wishes to. This drum is kept in the compound of the chef de terre, so the celebrations take place around the hut where the drum is kept. There is a special song and dance for this festival which is called the atal«wa song. The festival includes the dance of the hulum b'atal«wa, the 'atal«wa man,' who is possessed by the atal«wa spirit.
The kaaraN is the sowing festival. The teleere drum is played for this celebration and the Kera sing songs concerning the bad deeds that others have done against them. kaaraN takes place in April, marking the time of sowing in preparation for the rainy season. For this festival, each village has a different song.
The men festival takes place in March or April. It is a festival concerning the killing of wild beasts in the bush. There does not appear to be music associated with it.
There is another festival which is not carried out in the Koupor region at the moment--the chief's festival. I was able to observe one of them among the Tupuri, a neighboring group, and I am told that the festivities are very similar. For six days before the celebration, the chief stays in his hut. Later in the afternoon he is required to come out of his hut and do a special dance which he must perform without a mistake. The dancing starts with several musicians and some women dancers moving in a circle. The instruments played are the atoltom, the azimzima, and the akockoco. The main tune is:
The dance step is:
- Step right, step left, step right, bring left leg up to right, step left, step right, step left, bring right leg up to left
The musicians are soon joined by the agura. Many of them play flutes and horns. Some have whistles and others cry out while tapping their mouth. They enter the dance area slowly in procession, led by the musicians and spiraling around in ever-increasing circles. By the end of the dance, the spiral contains about five circles. Each time a new layer is added the leader brushes the crowd away using branches. The musicians stay in the middle. Some of the leaders wear masks. During the dance, the agura men try to gather more women into the spiral.
Before the chief's dance, a cow is sacrificed together with some other animals. The chief's dance is followed by a feast in the chief's compound for invited guests. During the chief's dance and the meal, the titir drum is played. A gun is fired when the chief first comes out of his compound. The Kera ceremony would be similar to this one, but at present there is no chief for the Koupor region.