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)	Male Badouma paddlers	01:38
102	Badouma Paddler's Song (2)	Male Badouma paddlers, sansa player, rattle and horn players	01:33
103	N'Goundi Song	Male N'Goundi singer with sansa, mixed chorus	02:06
104	N'Goundi Girls' Song	Female N'Goundi soloist, girls' chorus	01:15
105	Mboko Song	Male Mboko musical bow player	01:53
106	Mboko Riddle Song	Four male Mboko musicians with zither-harp and percussion	01:21
107	Okandi Women's Song	Female Okandi chorus, three male drummers	01:40
108	Yaswa Marimbas	Yaswa xylophone players	01:35
201	Bongili Work Song	Young Bongili women beating out bananas	01:17
202	Baya Dance	Mixed Baya singers with rattles, three drummers	01:57
203	Pomo Perambulating Chant	Mixed Pomo singers with rattles, male horn and bell players	01:38
204	Koukouya Horns and Drums	Koukouya singer with drum, five ivory-horn players	01:38
205	Babinga Pigmy Chorus*	Female Babinga chorus, flute player	01:16
206	Babinga Dance	Mixed Babinga chorus, drummers	01:52
207	Kouyou Medicine Dance	Male Kouyou singers, horn player, drummers	01:22
208	Kouyou Women's Dance	Female Kouyou chorus with bell, three male drummers	02:04