Exploring the origins, organization, subject matter, and performance contexts of singers and singing, Women's Songs from West Africa expands our understanding of the world of women in West Africa and their complex and subtle roles as verbal artists. Covering Cote d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and beyond, the essays attest to the importance of women's contributions to the most widespread form of verbal art in Africa.

African women's verbal art in context

About the Author

Thomas A. Hale is Liberal Arts Professor of African, French, and Comparative Literature at Pennsylvania State University. He is author of Griots and Griottes (IUP, 2007) and editor (with Aissata G. Sidikou) of Women's Voices from West Africa: An Anthology of Songs from the Sahel (IUP, 2012).

Aissata G. Sidikou is Assistant Professor of French at the United States Naval Academy. She is author of Recreating Words, Reshaping Worlds: The Verbal Art of Women from Niger, Mali, and Senegal.

Reviews

This book is a valuable source of information for Africanists interested in the role played by women in the continuity of tradition in African culture. . . . Recommended.

* Choice *

Women's Songs from West Africa, is a valuable resource for scholars interested in West African music, and represents a remarkable achievement.

* Ethnomusicology Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253010179
Author Thomas A. Hale
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 689g