Music Of The Cameroons / Var Music Of The Cameroons / Var CD

From the grassy highlands of western Cameroon, Music of the Cameroons narrates the lives of the Bafut tribe of the Tikar ethnic lineage, along with select moments from other nearby Tikar and Fulani tribes. Evocative of the cyclical nature of their lives, the Bafut create layers of repetition and polyrhythm as their workers sift through coffee beans, villagers celebrate their fon (or king), and a mother sings her child to sleep. Both women and men share leading roles in call-and-response tracks featuring instruments such as the shekere (shaker gourd) and pit harp. Liner notes include further descriptions of the Tikar music-making process, the musicians, and photographs dating from 1959 when this album was created.

1. Njung 2. Hail Muma / Social Song (1) (Medley) 3. Hail Mumu / Social Song (2) 4. Three Bafut Songs 5. Ngwa - Two Songs / Part 1 6. Ngwa - Two Songs / Part 2 7. Drinking Song 8. Mansa (Funeral Song) 9. Song for the Grass Ceremony 10. Four Lullabies 11. Sanitree ("Sanitary") 12. Lambule Munkunka ("Shaming" Song) 13. Njung (Social Song and War Cry) 14. Mansa (Funeral Song) 15. Christian Hymn 16. Njung 17. Coffee Workers Song / Work Song with Leader / Jamma-Jamma (Medley) 18. Pit Violin 19. Fon's Wives (Two Songs) 20. Social Njung 21. Song of Welcome 22. Nufum (Memorial to the Dead) / Fulani / Njung (Medley)