I COULD HAVE SWORN I POSTED THIS LAST NIGHT!?
This is another record I found randomly somewhere, it turned out to be quite amazing.
If you can read/translate spanish and want to read the linear notes on the back clearer than in the photos I have provided, just holler and I will scan them HQ style.
I don't know much about this, but it's one of the more 'rare' records which I started posting music on this blog for. Enjoy.
Oh, also I updated and reorganized links, check them out.! leave a comment if you feel left out!
Oh, also I updated and reorganized links, check them out.! leave a comment if you feel left out!
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7 comments:
i liked your blog so much that I gave it a post and a link HERE
http://chewbone.blogspot.com/2008/05/todays-featured-mp3blog-allen-ginsberg.html
More soul! More of this stuff! More more more!
dude i can help you with the translation, just email me the lines.
1-songs to eleggua. god of roads and crossroads.
2-pray to odudua. god of the subterranean world.
3.pray and meta of chango. God of virility, fire, lightning and drums.
conga music. meta is one of the playing styles of shango.
4-congo prayers
5 yuka songs
6 makutas
7 stick songs
yoruba music:
santeria is a cuban religion that resulted from the mix of ancient yoruba rites from western nigeria
and catholic elements. the different african cults arrived to cuba during the slave trade reorganizing
at the end of xviii century and beginning of xix. the contact with the spanish religion made
assimilation an imperative for surviving the slave regime.
santeria holds the believe of a supreme god, olofi, but he is not adored directly "because he is not
at all interested in human matters".
nevertheless orishas, or gods, are intermediaries between olodi and men, and have power to protect
or punish. they are anthropomorphic, represent nature's elements and have all virtues and defects of mortals.
during santeria festivities, there are beautiful chants and dances honoring the gods, practices that
have greatly enhanced our folklore.
in the ceremonies of more importance bata drums are played, instruments that are regarded as sacred
because it is thought that Anya deity resides in them.
bata are 3 drums with 2 membranes, whose boxes are carved on special woods preferably mahogany or cedar.
they are played on both sides at the same time.
songs are sung in yoruba and they praise the powers of orishas or hold account of their lives.
conga music:
congolese slaves brought to cuba a complex mix of animist believes according to which all natural elements,
stones, sticks, water, were regarded as hosting spirits or forces.
the goal of the cult was to attract good power and avoid negative forces.
actually it is not correct to speak about cuban conga, but only of sects of bantu origin mixed with different intensity with other african cults and catholicism.
these sects, briyumba, palo monte mayombre, kimbisa, differ in ritual aspects but all ceremonies
are centered around nganga, the magic recipient were the forces are concentrated.
the songs are antiphonal: solos and chorus alter. the melodic line is brief and lyrics are in
a bantu dialect ( or what remains of them) with abundant spanish words, a rare occurrence in
other cuban rites.
the most widely used instruments are : 3 drums or ngoma, a guataca,or ngongui and several
vegetal/metallic maracas or nkembi.
in some isolated regions of cuba it is still possible to hear other instruments like kinfuiti, a
small drum, and yukas, 3 drum set with one membrane made with avocado/almond branches.
dude, i did my best but it was hard to read... enjoy
Side A
Música Yoruba: Santería is a form of Cuban religion which was produced by a syncretism of ancient Yoruba rites from West Africa with elements of Catholoicism. The different African cultures reached Cuba in fragments during the Negro traffic, and reorganized themselves at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th. Contact with the religion of the Spaniards made them assimilate elements of this faith in order to survive under the slavery regime.
Santería possesses the concept of a Supreme God, Olofí; but he is not worshipped directly, because "he has absolutely no interest in the affairs of men." He is simply invoked. Nevertheless, the orishas and gods, possessing the power to protect or to punish, are intermediaries between Olofí and men. They are anthropomorphic, represent elements of nature, and possess all the virtues and faults of mortals.
In the festivals of Santería are executed songs and dances in honor of the gods. The songs and dances are of great musical beauty and have enriched our folklore.
In the ceremonies of greatest importance, Batá drums are beaten. They are considered sacred instruments, because it is believed that in them is rooted the deity Añá. The Batá are three drums of two skins whose bodies are fashioned from the trunks of special trees, preferrably cedar or mahogany. They are struck on both ends at the same time. In the songs, the Yoruba language is kept exclusively as a ritual language. The songs recount different events in the life of the orishas, or they are hymns of praise to the orishas' powers.
1. Songs to Elegguá. This god is the master of roads and intersections.
2. Prayer to Odudúa. Odudúa is the god of the underworld.
3. Prayer and Meta of Shangó. This god is the god of fire, of lightning, of virility, and of drums. The Meta is one of his sacred beats.
Música Conga: The Congolese slaves brought to Cuba a complex of animist beliefs by which they considered all the elements of nature--rocks, wood, water, etc.--as the habitations of spirits or "forces." The goal of the cults consisted in attracting the protection of the benevolent forces and avoiding the malevolent ones.
In reality there is no one Congolese religion of Cuba, but rather there are sects with ancient Bantu precedents which display various stages of syncretism with other cults of African origin and with popular catholicism. The said sects--Briyumba, Palo Monte, Maymobe, and Kimbisa--differ in aspects of their rituals; but all of the ceremonies revolve around the adoration of the Nganga, a magical receptacle wherein the various worshipped forces are concentrated.
The songs that accompany the Congolese rituals are antiphonal; that is to say, phrases sung by the soloist ("the rooster") alternate with other phrases repeated by "the vassals" (the chorus). The melodic lines of same are short. The words are in Bantu dialect, or whatever has been preserved from those languages. There is an abundance of Spanish vocabulary, a frequent occurrence in other Cuban musical rites.
The instruments most genrally used by the Congolese, or "Paleros," to create their music are: three drums (Ngoma), one guataca (Ngongui), and various types of maracas made from plants or metallic ones called Nkembi.
In some remote regions of Cuba it is still possible to hear other instruments, such as the Kinfuiti, a small roaring drum, and the Yukas, a trio of single-skinned drums made from the fire-dried trunks of avocado or almond.
Cuban dances of Congolese ancestry can be said to be of a religious nature, like the Makuta, a convulsive type of couples dance, and the stick dances, which are war remembrances. Or they can be secular, like the Yuka, with vestiges of ancient fertility rites and which are characterized by the Vacunao, a violent thrust of the dancer's pelvis.
The Yuka dance has almost disappeared from the Congolese festivals, and its steps and styles are preserved only in some rural areas of Cuba.
The music and the dances possess value indepent of their religious content which merit their preservation and dissemination as some of the liveliest manifestations created by our people.
4. Congo prayers. While rites of a secret nature are being performed, the Congolese, or Paleros, intone melodically beautiful prayers in honor of the forces being worshipped.
5. Yuka songs. A dance of erotic nature, characterized by the Vacunao, a violent thrust of the dancer's pelvis
6. Makuta. Convulsive dance of a religious nature.
7. Stick songs. Couples dance of a religious nature.
Side B
Música Abakuá: In Cuba there survives up into our own times an African-style secret society, known by the name of "Abakuá," whose oldest antecedents can be found in the region of Calabar, in West Africa. It is an exclusive institution for men where is celebrated a series of esoteric rites dedicated to the exaltation of masculinity, accompanied by chants and drum beats of great musical beauty.
Los Abakuá o Sáñigos, as they also known, put on a mystery play, the basis for forming the group, that narrates the story of a legendary woman, Sikán, from the Efó tribe. She discovered the secret of Tanze, a supernatural fish which was the reincarnation of Akasí, the Supreme God. Her indiscretion in revealing her discovery to the rival Efí tribe unleashed great calamities on her people. As punishment, she was sacrificed.
Great post! Helpful comments! Just got there but this seems to be a very nice music blog and interesting photography...
Thanks
bolingo
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