Music from the Villages of Northeastern Nigeria

Recorded in the field by Paul Newman, Eric Davidson, and Lyn Davidson, Music from the Villages of Northeastern Nigeria explores the music of five distinct ethnic groups: the Bura, Ga’anda, Bolewa, Tangale, and Tera. Published as part of the Asch Mankind Series in 1971, the collection’s thirty-one tracks tour the variety of musical traditions practiced in a region of marked cultural and linguistic diversity. In his review of the record, Nigerian musicologist Aken Euba wrote that these tracks “provide a good cross-section of the music of five African ethnic groups and is, from this point of view, useful for the general student of African Culture.” Liner notes include ethnographic profiles of the five groups, a map of their geographical distribution, a diagram of their linguistic classification, photographs, and annotations of each track which include partial translations.

Sources:

Euba, Akin. 1973. “Record Review: Music from the Villages of Northeastern Nigeria.” Ethnomusicology 17(1):148–149.

Track Listing

101	Music of the Bura People: Bura Praise Singing	Inuwa Kusar Mundi	09:55
102	Music of the Bura People: Bura Dance Music	Bura xylophone and drum group	03:18
103	Music of the Bura People: Bura Praise Singer (1)	Bello Mundi	02:38
104	Music of the Bura People: Bura Praise Singer (2)	Yanga Kwaya	02:13
105	Music of the Bura People: Bura Dance Band (Bonsuwe)	Bura dance group recorded in the village of Marama	01:40
106	Music of the Bura People: Bura Dance Band	Musicians from Kwajaffa recorded in Biu Town	01:21
201	Music of the Ga'anda People: Ga'anda Flute Band	Ga’anda flute band recorded in village of Ga'anda	03:06
202	Music of the Ga'anda People: Ga'anda Xylophone Band	Ga'anda xylophone group	02:30
203	Music of the Bolewa People: Bolewa Horns	Bolewa horn and drum group recorded in Gadam	00:31
204	Music of the Bolewa People: Bolewa Horns with Singing and Drums	Bolewa drum and horn group recorded in Gadam	01:44
205	Music of the Bolewa People: Bolewa Dance (Jabalwa)	Bolewa dance group recorded in the town of Gadam	01:58
206	Music of the Bolewa People: Bolewa Dance (Jakkutu)	Bolewa woman singing with chorus recorded in the town of Gadam	01:46
207	Music of the Bolewa People: Bolewa Dance with Hausa Drumming	Bolewa singers and drummers recorded in the town of Gadam	05:08
208	Music of the Bolewa People: Bolewa Singing (Babunare)	Bolewa singers and drummers recorded in the town of Gadam	02:16
209	Music of the Tangale People: Tangale War Dance - Latang Music (1)	Tangale dance group recorded in the village of Biliri	02:23
301	Music of the Tangale People: Tangale War Dance - Latang Music (2)	Tangale dance group recorded in the village of Biliri	03:12
302	Music of the Tangale People: Tangale War Dance - Bid-Bid Music	Tangale dance group recorded in the village of Biliri	02:08
303	Music of the Tangale People: Tangale Dance Sung by Women	Tangale dance group recorded in Biliri	03:54
304	Music of the Tangale People: Tangale Banjo Music	Tangale musicians recorded in the village of Biliri	02:47
305	Music of the Tangale People: Tangale Praise Singing with One-String Fiddle	Tangale praise singer recorded in the village of Biliri	02:02
306	Music of the Tangale People: Hausa Court Music	Tangale musicians recorded in the village of Biliri	03:48
307	Music of the Tera People: Tera Dance (Bonsuwe)	Tera dance group recorded in the village of Wuyo	04:41
308	Music of the Tera People: Tera Dry Season Dance (Ngudi)	Tera dance group recorded in the village of Wuyo	02:42
401	Music of the Tera People: Tera Funeral Dance (Gamto)	Tera dance group featuring a Jara female singer	02:07
402	Music of the Tera People: Tera Xylophone Music (Bayamina / Ndeli)	Tera xylophone player recorded in the village of Wuyo	03:17
403	Music of the Tera People: Tera Bonsuwe Sung with Two Xylophones	Musicians from the village of Deba Habe	03:14
404	Music of the Tera People: Tera Dance with Two Xylophones (Sapar Kwada)	Two Tera xylophone players recorded in Deba Habe	02:34
405	Music of the Tera People: Tera Walking Dance (Leo-Leo)	Tera dance group recorded in Zambuk	01:55
406	Music of the Tera People: Tera Dance (Gwarde)	Tera dance group recorded in Zambuk	02:46
407	Music of the Tera People: Fulani Garaya Band	Fulani Garaya group from the village of Briyel	03:17
408	Music of the Tera People: Tera Dance (Bayamina)	Tera dance group recorded in the village of Wuyo	04:41