Ugandan Music in the Marketing Era: The Branded Arena

214 Pages·2015·2.17 MB·English

by  David G. Pier (auth.)

Th e Branded Arena
UGANDAN
MUSIC
IN THE
MARKETING
ERA
David G. Pier
Ugandan Music in the Marketing Era

Ugandan Music in the
Marketing Era
The Branded Arena
David G. Pier
UGANDAN MUSIC IN THE MARKETING ERA
Copyright © David G. Pier 2015
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-54939-6
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First published 2015 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
The author has asserted their right to be identifi ed as the author of this
work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers
Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One
New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004-1562.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
ISBN: 978–1–349–57961–7
E-PDF ISBN: 978–1–137–54697–5
DOI: 10.1057/9781137546975
Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave
Macmillan®, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered
in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pier, David G., 1975–
Ugandan music in the marketing era : the branded arena / David
G. Pier.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Performing arts festivals—Uganda. 2. Corporate sponsorship—
Uganda. 3. Folk music—Uganda. 4. Beer—Uganda—Marketing. I. Title.
PN1590.F47P54 2015
791.096761—dc23 2015017005
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments i x
Notes on the Writing of Bantu Language Terms xi
Introduction Dance Promotion in the Marketing Era 1
1 The Senator Extravaganza as a Marketing Project 29
Interlude Witnessing the Extravaganza 53
2 “Discover Our Land, Our Cultures”: The Musical
Imagination of a Multiethnic Nation 6 3
3 Women’s Groups and Their Politics of Musical Promotion 85
4 The Music of a Senator Performance 1 15
5 Beyond the Senator Extravaganza: Marketing Ugandan
Music to International Not-for-Profits 1 39
Conclusion The Branded Arena 171
Notes 1 77
Bibliography 1 83
Index 1 95

Illustrations
Photos
1.1 Traditional beer gift at a brideprice ceremony 33
1.2 A traditional healer character in a drama by
the group Birungi By’ensi 37
1.3 Mr. Senator stilt dancer 5 6
1.4 Harpist performing a “solo item” on his adungu, Lira 57
1.5 Acholi traditional folk dance, Lira 5 9
3.1 Mon Pi Dong Lobo 91
4.1 Tugezeku member, playing enkwanzi 122
5.1 Boys in Busembatya, playing papaya stem
“trumpets” 150
Figures
4.1 Refrains of the five songs of “Omwenge
Senator Mulungi” 129
4.2 Tamenhaibuga drum patterns 1 30
4.3 Xylophone entry, compared to the sung refrain 1 33
4.4 Xylophone pattern, comprising interlocked
starter and mixer parts (mixer parts have
small noteheads) 1 33
4.5 Enkwanzi panpipe interlocking 1 34
Tables
2.1 Senator Extravaganza 2006 Luganda-language
advertisement, shown on television 6 4
4.1 Translated lyrics of “Omwenge Senator Mulungi” 1 27

Acknowledgments
In the process of researching and writing this book about network-
ing through music, I have come to rely greatly on my own growing
social network. I wish to thank, first of all, the Ugandans who not
only shared their knowledge and opinions with me, but also showed
me extraordinary hospitality, inviting me into their homes, intro-
ducing me to their friends, driving me long distances, and generally
going out of their way to make sure my stay in their country was
comfortable, productive, and enlightening: Haruna Walusimbi,
Victoria Tibafaanana, Hajat Rehema Watongola, Mubialiwo
Malyamu, Derrick Charch, Robert Mawanda, Patrick Kabanda,
Watmon Amone, Andrew Kimuli, Claire Ssemambo, Kate Kimuli,
Deborah Kyobula, Sarah Nangobi, Hilda Lakot, Mukiruka Syme,
and Phillip Okullu. I must extend special thanks to my mukulu ,
James Isabirye, who dedicated the better part of a year to assisting
me in every respect (and has the scars to show for it).
This research was made possible by a Fulbright IIE grant. I
thank Dorothy Ngalombi and Paul Stevenson, of the US Embassy
in Kampala, for their facilitation of this grant. I received addi-
tional research funding from Santa Clara University and from the
University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill.
My interest in Ugandan music arose out of my graduate work
in ethnomusicology at the Graduate Center of the City University
of New York (CUNY). Stephen Blum, my PhD adviser, has been
an extraordinary mentor and friend, whose teaching continues to
stimulate my thinking on music and culture. He was kind enough
to read and comment on early drafts of this book. I also received
invaluable guidance and intellectual grounding from my other
CUNY professors: Peter Manuel and Jane Sugarman, who served
on my dissertation committee, as well as Ellie Hisama. My growth
as a scholar in graduate school was shaped by not only my teachers,
but also my peers, in particular Stephanie Jensen-Moulton, Evan
Rapport, and Alessandra Ciucci.