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Aboriginal Australian Culture and Music

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Of all the cultures we've reviewed this semester, I am surprised that we didn't learn about Aboriginal Australians. The Aboriginal people of Australia are people that migrated from Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, and East Timor. Together they combined their cultures and became the indigenous people of Australia. Their religion/mythology is Dreamtime/ the dreaming songlines. The Aboriginal dreamtime is the main part of their culture. The dream catcher is one of the items that stems from Dreamtime. Dream catchers were originally created for babies for protection when they slept to protect them from evil spirits. They were also used as mobiles to “entertain” babies. Music The main instrument they use is the Didgeridoo. The didgeridoo is an aerophone or wind instrument that is made of hollowed wood. It doesn’t have any holes alongside it, and it is blown through by using a mouthpiece. It is able to replicate the sounds of nature su
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African American Spirituals

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     When I saw African American spirituals on the list of options, I had to choose the topic. As black people, growing up my cousins and I listened to African American spirituals a lot. My grandma used to tell us about the hidden meanings in different songs. Some of the songs are very empowering, while others have very sad connotations.     African  American spirituals come from enslaved African Americans singing in unison as a form of encouragement. Due to the time period the music came from, some people called the songs Negro Spirituals. While the slave owners tried to strip the slaves of their culture and religion, they couldn't take away their music. Music was a beautiful momentary distraction from the everyday horrors of slavery.  A popular African American spiritual I like is "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." While it is classified as a "children's church" song, it was originally a song sung by slaves when they needed encouragement. The &qu
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Sub-Saharan Africa

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 I've always been interested in Malian culture, but I've never really listened much to their music. I was more interested in their fashion and food, which is why I was excited when I saw we were looking into Africa's musical culture, because this provided a way for me to learn more about their culture. The first thing I researched was famous singers. When going to Britannica  I found Salif Keita. Salif Keita is a very versatile Malian singer that sings many genres like jazz and the blues. He grew up in a poor farming family and since he has albinism, he was rejected by his family for looking different. As he grew older he chose to do music, which put even more distance between he and his family. After moving away from home, he started preforming at night clubs. Not too long after preforming in the clubs he started playing with a band where they played songs such as Gansana . After a while he branched off and had some solo songs. In 2009 he released his song La difference, w
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Music of Indigenous Americans

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  1. Out of every instrument we spoke about in class, one instrument that we didn't mention  is the   Rainstick . I  remember learning about the rainstick in 4th grade. The rainstick is classified as a percussion  instrument/a shaken idiophone.  Native  Americans  use them at powwows and other  ceremonies whether small or large. When they're shaken, they make a noise that's very similar to rain.  When preformed at  powwows, the rainstick is usually  accompanied by other instruments.  The rainstick is  usually used to rid the area and or group of people of evil spirits. The 2nd use of a rainstick being played is if the area the Indigenous people are in is experiencing a drought that's causing their crops and animals to die off.  The best part about  rainsticks, is that they're very simple to make. They''re made from very accessible materials such as cactus stems and bamboo sticks. The materials used inside vary from items as big as rocks and gravel to finer i
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My Musical Culture

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       Hi, I'm Chanaya Carr, and I'm a first year student at Converse. I've played soccer for 15 years which is basically my whole life. My parents first put me in soccer when I was three years old, and I’ve liked it ever since.  I grew up in Columbia, SC with my mom and dad. In April of 2020, my dad died, and since then I’ve gotten closer with my mom, and I’ve traveled a lot more. I have 2 siblings (an older brother and an older sister). I also have 2 nieces and 1 nephew. My favorite colors are blue and green because they remind me of nature. My favorite tv shows are Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Hannah Montana, and Victorious. My favorite movies are Hercules, John Wick 1+2 (the third felt a little forced), Columbiana, The Princess and the Frog, and Chicken Little. My favorite foods include, but are not limited to french fries, wings (flats only), pizza (pepperoni), and pasta (alfredo + spaghetti). My hobbies include cooking, baking, and journaling. I currently don’t hav
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