‘Kinesis und Katharsis’: The African Traditional Concept of Sound/Motion (Music): Its Application in, and Implications for, Music Therapy — Part III

Abstract

This paper falls into three broad sections, the first two of which were published in BJMT 10:1 (1996). The first section provided a brief introduction to the African philosophy of music and musical instruments and explored the reasons behind the therapeutic powers attributed to music; the second section considered the traditional African causal theory of ailments and the relevance of the different uses of music in almost all traditional medical interventions in African society. This third and final section is an attempt to draw up an evaluative paradigm of some traditional music therapeutic practices and techniques in the light of modern music therapy. Mention is made of several traditional music therapy practices but, overall, the paper does not have an anthropological bias. This paper is a partial report of current research into traditional African music therapy and is motivated by the author's interest in identifying those aspects of African music therapy which may have correlations in Western music therapy methodology and practice.