Sungura in Zimbabwe and the Limits of Cosmopolitanism

摘要

Sungura is the most popular style of music in Zimbabwe, yet it has remained under-represented in the academic literature. The dominant theoretical frameworks including nationalism, globalisation, and cosmopolitanism fail to account for practices such as sungura that are multi-national, multi-ethnic musical styles detached from local understandings of tradition and the indigenous. By engaging in an historical examination of the emergence of sungura and its origins in Congolese rumba, Kenyan benga, South African township jive, and other regional influences, I explain how the social formation tied to sungura performance is distinct from those addressed in the academic literature. In particular, I explain how the multiple versions of cosmopolitanism currently in use each risk excluding the communities engaged in sungura.View full textDownload full textKeywordsZimbabwe, Sungura , Benga , Popular Music, Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism, Identity, GlobalisationRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17411912.2012.709815