Abstract
Abstract This article examines the transmission of voicing – the use of voice during the execution of a song – in Gwoka music. Considered at the time of French colonization as mizik a vié nèg (‘vagrants’ music’) this traditional music from Guadeloupe recently underwent a rehabilitation process that led to the idea that it reflected the ‘roots’ and the ‘authenticity’ of the Guadeloupean people. Gwoka music has since then become an important part of Guadeloupe’s cultural heritage, to the point that it is now listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The present work explores the relation between voicing in Gwoka and the questions of identity and memory. We suggest that traditional singers are chroniclers of their time, and memory smugglers who educate the audience by evoking values through their lyrics and voice. Gwoka music is strongly attached to political movements of resistance since its emergence. Previous generations of singers have not only transmitted vocal practice and lyrics, but also Creole language. Finally, we relate voicing to the preservation of Guadeloupean identity and to resistance in the face of Western domination.
Highlights
This article examines the transmission of voicing – the use of voice during the execution of a song – in Gwoka music
Gwoka music has since become such an important part of Guadeloupe cultural heritage that it is listed on the UNESCO ‘Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’
Gwoka is a symbol of cultural and political resistance and singers have played an important role in the rehabilitation process as reflected in the lyrics and vocal techniques pertaining to their songs
Summary
This article examines the transmission of voicing – the use of voice during the execution of a song – in Gwoka music. Gwoka is a symbol of cultural and political resistance and singers have played an important role in the rehabilitation process as reflected in the lyrics and vocal techniques pertaining to their songs. The goal of our interdisciplinary methodological approach is to provide an analysis of key elements of transmission in Gwoka music through the extraction of musical features from recorded songs performed by two generations of musicians.
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