The role of music in promoting national diversity

Introduction

Music may be understood as the cultural expression of a people through song and dance. This
is because music is for the most part accompanied by song and dance or rhythmic body
movements responding to organised sound. It may be noted that within a given nation there
are many different or diverse ethnic groups. These groups have what they call music at the
national level such as sungura or zimdancehall in Zimbabwe and what is called music at local
level such as Tonga folk songs or Nambya folk songs, for example. Music thus plays a huge
role in realising national diversity. It is through music that the cultural diversity in a nation is
brought to the light of day. Sungura is sang and performed differently by the Shona, Ndebele
or Tonga in Zimbabwe. Each ethnic group will infuse aspects of their culture into a given
music genre within a given nation. In the case of sungura music in Zimbabwe, it may be
noted that the sungura sang by Simon Chimbetu is different from that sang by Martin Sibanda
of Ndolwane Super sounds or that of Ndux. Mbira music is also sang differently by
individuals from different ethnic groups but is still recognised as mbira music. Thus by
allowing multiple voices from different cultural backgrounds to express themselves through
song and through common genres, music generates a platform for the realisation of national
diversity.

Definition of terms

Music is identified as the most universal of the performing arts, serving as an integral part of
other performing art forms and other domains of intangible cultural heritage and comprises of
organised sound, (UNESCO, 2016). This intangible cultural heritage that music is finds
expression through multiple voices from diverse cultural backgrounds. A nation is typically
composed of diverse ethnic groups who all express themselves through song. In a
multicultural society such as a nation, the provision of multicultural music has the potential to
help achieve national diversity and indeed achieves national diversity, (Zeleza, 2012). Music
promotes national diversity through enabling people to recognize and value difference, rather
than promotion social difference. It may be noted music plays a significant role in the life of
the African people where they express life in all of its aspects through the medium of sound,
(Zeleza 2012. Yet African people come from diverse cultural backgrounds. Their definition
of music is constructed just as it is for any other people. Music has been defined as a
universal language because everybody in every culture recognizes music when he/she sees
one or needs it, (Ajala 2011).

Main Discussion

It may be posited that music is culture-bound since it is peculiar to a given culture and ethnic
group and every culture decides on what is music and achieve consensus on what constitutes
music, (Ajala 2011). For example Manyika folk songs are different from Karanga folk songs.
The muchongoyo music of the manyika people in Zimbabwe is different from the mhande
songs of the Karanga. When Alick Macheso sings sungura in his native Chewa language and
when Martin Sibanda sings sungura songs in Ndebele it brings listeners diverse brands of
sungura which promotes national diversity. The same may also be said of musicians such as
Sulumani Chimbetu who sings in his native Yao language from Tukuyu in Tanzania though
for the most part he sings in Shona and sometimes in English. Musicans also experiment with
other music genres apart from those for which they are known. Sulumani Chimbetu
sometimes fuses sungura with Gqom from South Africa. This promotes national diversity.
Gift Amuli, a sungura musician sometimes sings through the hip-hop genre and the same can
be said of gospel musicians such as Fungisai Zvakavapano who uses the Zimdancehall music
genre which is a secular genre to sing gospel songs. This promotes national diversity.

Van Rensberg (2016) posited that many have had the experience of putting on music of other
cultures and congregation of people from an in-culture. This implies that people identify
music that is different from what they generally consider as music. This usually happens
when people listen to music sang in a language that they do not understand but still enjoy the
music. When Mukoomba music group sings in Tonga, many Zimbabweans may not
understand the language but still recognise that the music is good. This encourages listeners
to want to find out more about the group, their language and what they will be singing about.
This encourages national diversity as people get to know about the Tonga people and the
Tonga culture. Music may thus be a faster way of cultural dissemination than any other
means. When Andy Muridzo sings in Kalanga or Venda, most listeners who know him as a
singer who sings in Shona amay not know what he is singing about which gives them the
initiative to find out more about his message and the language in which the message is
packaged. Thus music demonstrates to listeners that there is more to life than what they are
used to and this promotes national diversity.
There are some Zimdancehall musicians who are beginning to sing in Ndebelet yet
Zimdancehall has largely been dominated by messages packaged in Shona. This is because
the musicians realise that there is more to music than dishing it out in one language. People
generally fall into the shame of essentialising music by labelling music as music that they
know, which to them is real music and music that they are not familiar with which to them is
not real music. When music from a culture which is not their indigenous culture and they will
continue talking away because they do not recognize that as music. When any music from
their own culture is put on, they are apt to say that it is real s music and begin to give it
attention and dance to it too. Thus it is culture that gives music its definition, (Anderson
2017). However as a consequence of increased global awareness, intellectual growth, cultural
transformation, media transmission and technological inventions occurred across the world,
our knowledge of music has dramatically expanded and people are generally more open
minded to music that is different, (Anderson 2017).

Technology and globalisation effects have created a massive amount of musical knowledge
beyond anyone’s lifetime of learning and has equally opened up music tastes which gives
every genre from any culture a chance to be heard and appreciated, (Biggerstaff & Thompson
2018). This promotes national diversity as all music voices have a chance to be heard. This is
because one’s definition of music is not limited to what they know as they grow up anymore.
It may be noted in the same vein that indigenous music is an oral tradition that aims to
transmit culture, values, beliefs and history from generation to generation, (Burns 2010).
Mbira music, for example has the capacity to transmit culture, beliefs and the history of
Zimbabwe as a nation. Any ethnic group in Zimbabwe can identify with mbira music and can
give it their own unique brand. This can also create national diversity. Burns (2010) noted
that the sonic world involves the language, the customs and values of the society; in the same
vein as language is tonal so too does the music adhere to the tonal inflection of the words
(Onwuekwe, 2009 in Burns 2010). Thus the Venda, Manyika, Korekore or Ndebele can
express their identity, customs and values through music. Music thus creates a platform for
all ethnic groups in a nation to express their customs, beliefs and values and this promotes
national diversity.

Ajala (2011) observed that music and dance are integral to African culture and practical
education from birth as they help prepare the people to participate in the areas of adult
activity, for example fishing, hunting, farming, grinding maize, attending weddings and
funerals and dances (van Rensburg, 2016). The vastness of the African terrain varies and so
do the music, dance, instruments, language and cultures. Through the expression of this
vastness in music form, diversity is brought to the fore and celebrated. The richness of
African languages, cultures, instruments, music and dances finds an outlet through music.
Music can express in a few minutes what would need voluminous books, articles or
documentaries. Music can tell a complete story within a few minutes and remain relevant and
easily accessible long after it has been released. Utley (2016) highlighted that many a time,
people appreciate music just for what they think it is as entertainment medium and musicians
for what they think they are entertainers. Utley notes that as a result they fail to comprehend
the vital role music and musicians play in the proper functioning of events in human
existence and thereby accord them little or no serious reputation in society. Music is more
than ordinary entertainment phenomenon, according to Ajala (2011) to the owners and
practitioners, it is a force, a living force that yields to various forms of meanings and
interpretations that are important to promoting national diversity.

Music is just not one thing but many things reviewed from a prism, which unifies all, (Utley
2016). This speaks to promotion of diversity. Therefore, from these various prism-like forms
of meanings and interpretations, one can rightly characterise music as, a moral censor, a
mobilizer, an educator, promoter of social and cultural values in their different forms within a
nation, (Burns 2010). All human action may occur in both highly structured and unstructured
forms. Music is always redundant in comparison with other forms of human activity. This is
frequently expressed by stating that music is highly patterned; at other times, the
repetitiveness or redundancy which music represents is pointed out, (Utley 2016). The way
musicians achieve this redundancy or these musical patterns is different within a given
nation. Hence the presence of many musicians in a given nation. In America or South Africa
for example, hundreds of musicians can be trending at once. This is because of the patterning
of their music which appeals to people regardless of how many those musicians are. Music
can therefore allow many different musicians from different cultural backgrounds to express
themselves at once and still be heard or listened to. This means multiple messages from
different sources finding expression at once and this promotes national diversity.

Callary, Rathwell and Young (2015) noted that the patterning of music makes it a natural
association for ritual, which is already patterned, is obvious; conversely, whatever is
happening in music is also patterning other forms of behaviour in a redundant manner. Music
listeners and viewers can learn about another culture through patterning attendant to the
music. Music generates the aha moment of listening and viewing when one realises how
other people do things and live their life and breeds understanding of other cultures. Callary
et al (2015) observed that the redundancy of music as a group-organizing function that
displays the behavioural norms which are crucial to a culture. They noted that music has two
functions, to organize groups of people into activity and to demonstrate, within that activity,
certain core-concepts which represent a skeletal statement of the major values of a society.
The people listening will read this statement and come to an understanding of the values of
that nation which maps into national diversity. Music is thus a form of communication, in
that it signals cultural patterns in specific, symbolic ways that can be attended to by music
consumers, (Zeleza 2012). It a display of the basic cultural values of a group of people within
a nation.

Music production and consumption takes place not only at the level countries which have
national anthems. When one visits schools around Zimbabwe, one finds that the national
anthem is sung in different languages and tis promotes national diversity. Smaller
communities of schools within Zimbabwe have their school songs sung in local languages,
Tonga, Venda, Kalanga, Nambya or Korekore. This promotes national diversity as local sings
songs that they can identify with. Churches in Zimbabwean communities also have
characteristic hymns which are local to those communities, occupational groups with their
occupational music, age groups with their personality music, and communities that have
certain music and dances for which they are known and which express their personality and
identity, (Zeleza 2012). Whenever the music typical of that group plays, people rally round it
to expresses their solidarity. When a community abandons its own music in favour of
another's, it is in danger of thinking, behaving, feeling and eventually being like the
community that is parent to its adopted music, hence the need for diversity in music and the
nation.

`Conclusion

Music is a very important element in the transmission of cultures. For example, in performing
the instrumental music of a country like the mbira in Zimbabwe, one begins to conceive of
the traditional instrument technology of that country in the mbira. Music such as mbira music
can be a national rallying point such as the chimurenga music during the war of liberation in
Zimbabwe. Music also generates the industry of entertainment. Music features in festivals
and in ceremonies which stretch from` ancient in origin. As long as music is used in those
ceremonies, the old ceremonies are passing down from one generation to another and this
creates national cohesion in diversity. And so, music becomes a vital instrument of the
transmission and continuity of the culture and identity of a people. Though there be music
genres in a nation, each ethnic group will seek to domesticate the genre and infuse their
identity and culture in the genre. Thus a genre like sungura in Zimbabwe can have Ndebele or
Venda fusions which speak to how diverse Zimbabweans are. Also music is not sang in one
language but in diverse languages in any given nation. Remixes of the international hit song
despacito were done in every imaginable language to show the diversity inherent in nations.

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