Music of Guinea-Bissau
The
music of Guinea-Bissau is usually associated with the
polyrhythmic
gumbe genre, the country's primary musical export. However, civil unrest and a small size have combined over the years to keep gumbe, and other genres, out of mainstream audiences, even in generally syncretist African countries.
The
calabash is the primary
musical instrument of Guinea-Bissau, and is used in extremely swift and rhythmically complex
dance music. Lyrics are almost always in
Capeverdean Crioulo (Kriolu), a
Portuguese-based
creole language, and are often humorous and topical, revolving around current events and controversies, especially
AIDS.
The word
gumbe is sometimes used generically, to refer to any music of the country, though it most specifically refers to a unique style that fuses about ten of the country's
folk music traditions.
Tina and
tinga are other popular genres, while extent folk traditions include
ceremonial music used in
funerals,
initiations and other rituals, as well as
Balanta brosca and
kussundé,
Mandinga djambadon and the
kundere sound of the
Bijagos islands.
Independence from Portugal came in
1974, after long years of struggle. In contrast to other Portuguese colonies like
Brazil,
Angola,
Mozambique and
Cape Verde, the
fado song tradition did not penetrate Guinea-Bissau to any significant degree. Gumbe was the first popular song tradition to arise in the country, and began in
1973 with the recording of
Ernesto Dabó's "M'Ba Bolama" in
Lisbon. Dabó's
record producer was
Zé Carlos, who had formed the most popular band in Guinea-Bissau's history,
Cobiana Djazz, in
1972. The next popular band to form was
Super Mama Djombo, whose
1980 debut,
Cambança, was tremendously popular across the country.
These early bands, and others like
Africa Livre,
Chifre Preto and
Kapa Negra, had a stormy relationship with Guinea-Bissau's dictatorial government. Zé Carlos criticized the administration, and died in a plane crash in
Havana under suspicious circumstances that many of his fans believe indicate a government role in his murder. Later, Super Mama Djambo both supported the
PAIGC and mocked its perceived
nepotism and
corruption.
In the
1980s, genres like kussundé began to become popular across the country, led by
Kaba Mané, whose
Chefo Mae Mae used an
electric guitar and
Balanta lyrics. Some performers were banned by the government, including
Zé Manel after he began singing "Tustumunhus di aonti" (
Yesterday's Testimony) in
1983, using lyrics written by
Huco Monteiro, a poet.
Justino Delgado, another popular singer, was arrested for criticizing President
João Bernardo Vieira.
*de Klein, Guus. "The Backyard Beat of Gumbe". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.),
World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 499-504. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
