Music of Equatorial Africa

This 1950 compilation utilizes recordings made in former French Equatorial Africa, a territory out of which the countries Chad, Central African Republic, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Cameroon were formed. Performers include members of the N’Goundi, Bongili, Babinga and other tribes. Ethnic Folkways Library editor Harold Courlander provides an essay explaining the ways in which African music has influenced many styles of American music, including cowboy and Latin–American songs. Song selections emphasize how music in Africa is connected to the activities of daily living, such as a song in which N’Goundi girls “scoff at a young boy who has bragged too much about his own capabilities.”

Track Listing

101	Badouma Paddler's Song (1) Buduma boatmen, Ogooué River, Gabon	01:38
102	Badouma Paddler's Song (2) Buduma boatmen with sansa, rattle, horn, Ogooué River, Gabon	01:33
103	N'Goundi Song N'Goundi man with sansa, mixed chorus	02:06
104	N'Goundi Girls' Song N'Goundi girls' chorus with handclapping	01:15
105	Mboko Song Mboko man with musical bow	01:53
106	Mboko Riddle Song Four Mboko men with zither-harp, wooden sticks, rattle	01:21
107	Okandi Women's Song Female chorus with drums	01:40
108	Yaswa Marimbas Yasua xylophone ensemble	01:35
201	Bongili Work Song Bongili girls with pestle sounds	01:17
202	Baya Dance Bayaka men and women with rattles, horn, and bells	01:57
203	Pomo Perambulating Chant Mixed chorus with antelope horn, iron bell, and rattle, Pomo village	01:38
204	Koukouya Horns and Drums Koukouya (Teke) ivory-horn ensemble with vocal chant and drum	01:38
205	Babinga Pigmy Chorus* Babinga women with flute, handclapping	01:16
206	Babinga Dance Babinga mixed chorus with drums	01:52
207	Kouyou Medicine Song Kouyou men with horn, drums, sticks, handclapping	01:22
208	Kouyou Women's Dance Kouyou women with drums, bell	02:04