Secular or Sacred: the Duality of Music in BaMbuti Culture
What does it mean for something to be sacred? Definitions and conceptions of what it means to be sacred often appear in terms of separating from that which is secular: “dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity,” “of or relating to religion : not secular or profane.” [emphasis added] (source). Sacred objects, ideas, and times in a culture are defined as sacred by their difference from everyday activities and things. While there are many methods of marking this divide, whether through ritual, physical space, or other mediums, there is a common theme of purposeful contrast throughout various societies. However, in BaMbuti culture, music is able to be sacred, but also functional, and thus secular.
Music as Functional
In many ways, the music-culture of the BaMbuti people shaped by the noises and sounds in …show more content…
One things that marks musical practices as sacred, as “not secular,” is the rituals surrounding music. For example, boys in the BaMbuti community were not allowed to see the molimo “until they had proved themselves as hunters, as adults in Pygmy eyes” (25). This makes seeing the molimo a special experience and sets aside the molimo as separate from functional items or everyday practices. This ritual raises the use of the molimo from something secular to something sacred. Also, there is a distinction made between the molimo and the sound it makes. As Turnbull says, ““It was plain that the molimo trumpets were not considered as highly sacred objects in themselves; what was important, for some reason, was the sound they produced” (CITE THIS). While the molimo is not treated as a particularly special object, the sound it makes is set aside as sacred. It is not about the physical item, but instead about the music it is able to create. The music itself is sacred rather than the
What does it mean for something to be sacred? Definitions and conceptions of what it means to be sacred often appear in terms of separating from that which is secular: “dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity,” “of or relating to religion : not secular or profane.” [emphasis added] (source). Sacred objects, ideas, and times in a culture are defined as sacred by their difference from everyday activities and things. While there are many methods of marking this divide, whether through ritual, physical space, or other mediums, there is a common theme of purposeful contrast throughout various societies. However, in BaMbuti culture, music is able to be sacred, but also functional, and thus secular.
Music as Functional
In many ways, the music-culture of the BaMbuti people shaped by the noises and sounds in …show more content…
One things that marks musical practices as sacred, as “not secular,” is the rituals surrounding music. For example, boys in the BaMbuti community were not allowed to see the molimo “until they had proved themselves as hunters, as adults in Pygmy eyes” (25). This makes seeing the molimo a special experience and sets aside the molimo as separate from functional items or everyday practices. This ritual raises the use of the molimo from something secular to something sacred. Also, there is a distinction made between the molimo and the sound it makes. As Turnbull says, ““It was plain that the molimo trumpets were not considered as highly sacred objects in themselves; what was important, for some reason, was the sound they produced” (CITE THIS). While the molimo is not treated as a particularly special object, the sound it makes is set aside as sacred. It is not about the physical item, but instead about the music it is able to create. The music itself is sacred rather than the