The music of
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
encompasses a range of musical styles and genres that draw from various influences including: Indian, Latino-Hispanic, European, African, Chinese, and Amerindian music. Popular Guyanese performers include:
Terry Gajraj
Terry Vivekanand Gajraj is a Guyanese chutney and chutney-soca artist.
Career
Born in the village of Fyrish, near the Corentyne River, in Guyana, he is the eldest of three children and son of a school teacher. Gajraj is a Hindu of Indian descent. ...
,
Eddy Grant
Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, Afr ...
, Dave Martins & the Tradewinds (Johnny Braff, Ivor Lynch & Sammy Baksh),
Aubrey Cummings, and Nicky Porter.
The Guyana Music Festival has proven to be influential on the Guyana music scene.
History
Earliest recorded musical interactions were mainly related to the missionary-driven spread of Christianity in the New World.
Moravian missionaries used music used hymns to reach the
Kalina people
The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages on the rivers and coasts of Venezuela, ...
in the area of
Berbice
Berbice is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 to 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Britain ...
. Slaves brought to the region via the
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...
contributed African influences from a wide array of different cultures, although music and dance was also utilized to promote fitness in slaves by their sellers. After emancipation, the period in which the British sought to bring indentured labor into the colonies introduced musical traditions of India, as well as Portugal and other countries.
When the colonies of
Demerara
Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state fro ...
,
Essequibo, and
Berbice
Berbice is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 to 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Britain ...
were merged into
British Guiana
British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.
The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...
, colonial power and upper class culture "exerted substantial influence" over music styles of the time. Military bands for parades and ceremonial purpose reflected British sovereignty. Classical music, religious music, or folk songs of Britain were also popular among the ruling class. In the late19th century, there was "a tendency import artists" as a show of "Victorian culture of respectability".
In marginalized groups, laws were enacted to suppress music, as it was connected to revolts. Nonetheless, music reflecting other cultures flourished within communities such as African-derived music in villages of former slaves and Indian traditions maintained in villages occupied by those under and post-indenture. The British Guiana Militia Band, formed mainly to deal with the unpopularity stemmed from involvement in the Angel Gabriel Riots, served both functions of promoting British Imperialism as well as an apprenticeship program for musicians of the
Portuguese Guyanese
A Portuguese Guyanese is a Guyanese whose ancestors came from Portugal or a Portuguese who has Guyanese citizenship.
Demographics
People of Portuguese descent were mainly introduced to Guyana as indentured laborers to make up for the exodus of ...
and
Afro-Guyanese
Afro-Guyanese are generally descended from the enslaved people brought to Guyana from the coast of West Africa to work on sugar plantations during the era of the Atlantic slave trade. Coming from a wide array of backgrounds and enduring condition ...
working class. Other musical events of the working-class included "practices", a paid-entry dance hall. Genres reflected a mix of African, Irish, and Scottish music traditions and instruments.
Contrary to the Christian-derived music of the colonial elite,
bhajans
Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
were important to Indo-Guyanese music. Tan singing and folk music accompanied by
tassa
In Trinidad and Tobago, and other parts of the Caribbean, the term ''tassa'' refers to a drumming ensemble drawn from an amalgamation of various North Indian folk drumming traditions, most importantly dhol-tasha, a style that remains popular today ...
drums followed instruments such as the
harmonium
The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...
,
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...
,
tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
,
dholak
The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The instrument is about 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth and is widely used in ''qawwali'', '' kirtan'', '' lavani'' and '' bhangra''. The drum has two differ ...
and
dhantal
The dhantal (dandtal) is a long steel rod based percussion instrument (sounding similar to the triangle), which was adapted from the iron "bows" that yoked the oxen that pulled the carts on the estates in Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trinidad and T ...
. Hindi has given way to English and Caribbean creole languages giving rise to fusion styles such as
chutney
A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce.
...
, which flourished mostly in
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
during its early years as Guyanese media outlets greatly restrained Indian culture in the 1970s and 80s. In the 90s, just as calypso was developing into
Soca
Soca or SOCA may refer to:
Places
* Soča, a river in Slovenia and Italy
* Soča, Bovec, Slovenia
* Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport, by ICAO code
* Soca, a village in Banloc Commune, Timiș County, Romania
* SoCa, Southern California
Other u ...
, chutney also took on more regional influences such as using the
steelpan
The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists.
Descriptio ...
and electronic instruments.
Calypso music, common among
Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...
communities, has also been an outlet for criticizing the government or addressing other social issues. Guyana has annual calypso competitions.
Music education
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
is home to many unique music traditions, but music has tended to receive little support in schools. Music studies are offered as part of teacher training at
Cyril Potter College of Education
The Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) is a higher education institution in Georgetown, Guyana.
The school's main campus is in Turkeyen, with an additional training center in Anna Regina.
History
The college was established in September ...
, and a fledgling National School of Music was opened in 2012.
Prominent musicians
El Sadiek & De Sugar Cake Girls from Guyana was a unique formation of entertainers, singers, dancers, musicians including the Sugar Cake Girls - Fiona, Sarah and Kamla. The diversity of El Sadiek music repertoire of Filmi, Chutney, Soca, Reggae, Hip Hop, and Soul music. El Sadiek lead keyboard player, Shabana, is the only female Indian keyboard player in Guyana and perhaps the Caribbean. El Sadiek also includes the singer Kerida who Chutney and Filmi beats. Other talented lead singers were Sheik and Dj Poopsie.
Guyanese-born musicians who developed their musical careers abroad include
Mad Professor
Mad Professor (born Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser, 1955, Georgetown, Guyana) is a Guyanese-born British dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music ...
(Neil Fraser). Fraser created Ariwa Records in 1979 and became a central figure in the UK dub scene as a prolific producer of dub and an originator of the "Lovers Rock" genre in the early 1980s.
See also
*
Shanto
Shanto is a form of Guyanese music, related to both calypso and mento. It became a major part of early popular music through its use in Guyanese vaudeville shows; songs are topical and light-hearted, often accompanied by a guitar.
The word "sha ...
*
Music of the Caribbean
Caribbean music genres are very diverse. They are each synthesis of African, European, Arab, Asian, and Indigenous influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves (see Afro-Caribbean music), along with contributions from other commu ...
*
Guyanese music in the United Kingdom
Guyanese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Guyana
* A person from Guyana, or of Guyanese descent. For information about the Guyanese people, see:
** Guyanese people
** Demographics of Guyana
** Culture of Guyana
* Gu ...
*
Georgetown Seawall Bandstand The Georgetown Seawall Bandstand is an iron bandstand that is situated on the western end of Georgetown Seawall in Guyana. It is one of three bandstands in Georgetown, the other two being situated in the Botanical Gardens and the Promenade Garden ...
*
Guyana Defence Force Band Corps
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Band Corps is a military band in Guyana. It is a representative unit in the GDF whose role is to provide musical accompaniment for ceremonial functions.
The band is currently composed of the following ensembles:
* M ...
References
Further reading
*
*
* "The African Folk Music Tradition from Guyana: A Discourse and Performance". Brown Bag Colloquium Series 2003–2004.
* Seals, Ray. "The Making of Popular Guyanese Music"
{{South America topic, Music of
Guyanese music