The Living, Dead and Dying: Music of the New Guinea Wape

The Living, Dead and Dying: Music of the New Guinea Wape is an exploration of a highly ceremonial and musical culture. Recorded over an 18-month period spanning 1970 and 1971, anthropologist William E. Mitchell documents a people struggling with famine and disease. To combat their struggle, they hold curing festivals, sing demon chants, and conduct other musical remedies. This field recording consists of songs from these events, as well as a number of typical routines and rituals of the Wape people, such as the burning of bamboo trees to clear out unwanted fog that settles in villages. The liner notes include short descriptions of each track and photographs of Wape life.

Track Listing

101	Call to the Forest (1)	Yamtulu	01:01
102	Parade of the Niyl Masks	Parade participants, Wilkili village	03:45
103	Maikasi Chant	Young people chanting with drum, Otemgi village	01:12
104	Mani Demon Chants (1)	Mani festival participants, Taute village	03:00
105	Mani Demon Chants (2)	Mani festival participants, Wilkili village	02:01
106	Wene Demon Chants	Wape men chanting to Wene demon, Taute village	02:50
107	Poril Demon Chants	Poril festival participants, Wilkili Village	08:06
201	Death of Waibu	Signal drummer and mourners, Taute village	03:01
202	Epilo's Funeral	Female mourners, Taute village	01:12
203	Entrance of the Mani Mask	Mani festival participants, Wilkili village	01:09
204	Mani Demon Chants (3)	Suwe	03:38
205	Bamboo Fire Ritual	Burning bamboo thicket, Taute village	00:55
206	A Lonely Wife's Lament	So'ope	01:35
207	The Reluctant Bride's Lament	Kuruwai	01:47
208	Lament of the Ugly Men / A Brother-in-Law's Lament	Waiape	03:18
209	Lament of a Parisko Maiden	Yenge	03:02
210	Lament of a Compromised Maiden	Kumoi	01:30
211	Night Laughter	Bilu	01:01
212	Call to the Forest (2)	Suwe	00:54