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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Overlooked and sublime: the case of 'mitungu' dance songs of northern Malawi
Author:Banda, TitoISNI
Year:2013
Periodical:Critical Arts: A Journal of Media Studies (ISSN 0256-0046)
Volume:27
Issue:4
Pages:418-438
Language:English
Geographic term:Malawi
Subjects:dance songs
Tumbuka
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02560046.2013.828392
Abstract:The songs of the 'mitungu' traditional dance of the Tumbuka-Ngoni people of the Rumphi and Mzimba districts in northern Malawi form part of a vibrant poetic genre that has remained undocumented ever since the dance first appeared in the mid-1960s. Not only has the genre been deemed unworthy of literary study, it has also been disregarded by the ruling classes, who tend to be uncomfortable with the frank discourse of the songs. Through an analysis of songs tape-recorded from various areas in the two districts, this article demonstrates that 'mitungu' songs are works of art in the sense that formalist literary theorist Viktor Shklovsky (1994) defines art, namely 'works created by special techniques designed to make the works as obviously artistic as possible'. The article also shows that 'mitungu' composers exploit linguistic features which, as averred by the classical literary critic, Longinus, make for the sublime in literature. It is argued that being overlooked by the ruling classes frees 'mitungu' from political incorporation. This enables the genre to express the spontaneous culture of the ordinary people, thereby making 'mitungu' one of Malawi's most faithful expressions of a people's ethos and world view. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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