African fiddle


The term African fiddle may be applied to any of several African bowed string instruments.

Instruments

; Luo orutu
; Gongey
; "Fiddle tube"

Ethnomusicology

Self-described "culture bearer" Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje of the University of California, Los Angeles broke new ground in ethnomusicology with her study of "fiddle" music of the Luo of Kenya. Citing Kwame Anthony Appiah, she rejects "nativist nostalgia... largely fueled by that Western sentimentalism so familiar after Rousseau". This is consistent with trends which urge caution when introjecting cultural stereotypes. Following her earlier academic studies, she released Fiddling in West Africa Touching the Spirit in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba Cultures in 2008.

Contemporary African fiddle music

& the Jo'burgm C is a Johannesburg, South Africa based ensemble produced by West Nkosi that has been critically acclaimed. They exhibit a sophisticated multiply layered tapestry of Zulu inspired sound on his 1989 release Art of Noise.

Moses Mchuno

Moses Mchuno's township jive track incorporates fiddle and traditional Soweto singing.

Additional scholarly resources