Music and Rituals
American Graduation Ceremonies
At my high school graduation, like many other graduations they played the well known “Pomp and Circumstance” song; also known as the Graduation Walking March song. This song has a steady beat played by mostly aerophones like flutes and clarinets. Whenever I hear this song, my mind immediately goes back to my graduation- and I’m sure this happens to most people, considering how iconic this song is. The phrase “Pomp and Circumstance” means “impressive formal activities or ceremonies.” The title comes from a line in Shakespeare's Othello ("Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!") in 1901, and was first composed by Sir Edward Elgar. Along with this specific song played at the ceremony of highschool or college graduations, caps and gowns are assigned to the students which are highly associated with this event; in other words, you won't hear this song without seeing those outfits (caps and gowns). The specific attire plays hand-and-hand with the music to create this well known ceremony. I would consider graduations a tradition of American culture, as it is a public occasion, celebrating an event that happens yearly all over the country at different schools. Personally, I think this song matches the vibe of the event. The song is serene, steady, and repetitive which matches the routine of the students walking across the stage.
“Pomp and Circumstance” music:
African Celebration of Life Ceremony
When someone passes, some African traditions celebrate their life. While in America we wear black clothes as a symbolism of sadness and death, this culture does almost the complete opposite. “They will often wear special clothing and cut, or change, their hairstyle. While black is the traditional color worn by mourners in the United States, red and white are more commonly seen at funerals in Africa…In many African cultures, the idea of death is not about the ending of life, but about the continuation of life in a new phase. In death a connection continues between the spirit of the dead person and their community on earth. African artists create objects that are used to help visualize this connection between the deceased and their community, especially their family.” “Song of Transition” is a song sung by the Zande people. The music is mostly singing voices with the addition of some kind of membranophone and clapping. The rhythm and tune of the music is upbeat, along with the voices of the people singing. The song had a repetitive beat, call and response singing, and some consonance harmony.
Sources: https://carlos.emory.edu/htdocs/ODYSSEY/AFRICA/AF_death.html
“Song of Transition” music:
I like that in African cultures, death is more about celebration and community vs the actual death. Also that they wear bright colors and they sing fun and upbeat music. I think it would be nice if it were more normalized to do these things in America. It would be less depressing to attend a funeral if were celebrating the persons life in a more upbeat way.
ReplyDeleteI dont know if this is nation wide or just coming from the south of the united stated but we used this song as well in the opening and the closure of or graduation
ReplyDeleteWe used the same song to open our graduation in high school, and I've actually played the song before which is quite tiring. I did like reading about how Africa deals with someone's death. The one thing I found interesting is how red and white are more common mourning colors in Africa as opposed to wearing black in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteWe used the same song also but if you would've never included this in your blog i would have never knew. I was just focused on my name being called lol. And yes Africans do tend to look on the brightside about certain things I was told It reduced stress when they celebrate the way they do.
ReplyDeleteWe used the same type of song during graduation in high school and I think its a great way to set the mood for a celebration like that. I also like the part about African celebration and how death is more of a celebration more than the sadness of the death I think thats how funeral's should be.
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