This article considers various musical literacies currently practised by the Christmas bands of t... more This article considers various musical literacies currently practised by the Christmas bands of the Western Cape, South Africa, transitioning from an essentially oral practice to a literate one. Historically, band repertoire was learnt orally and generationally, ensuring the preservation of a locally distinctive band sound. The article investigates whether this unique sound is compromised by the adoption of newer teaching methods attached to reading staff notation and the inclusion of university-trained musicians as instructors and directors of the bands.
... (2003). Approx. 52 minutes, English and Zulu, English subtitles. ... It has extensive intervi... more ... (2003). Approx. 52 minutes, English and Zulu, English subtitles. ... It has extensive interviews with kwaito artists Zola and Arthur interspersed with clips of performances of Cape hip-hop groups Godessa and Black Noise. There is also footage of youth culture in Zanzibar. ...
In this dissertation I investigate the Christmas Bands Movement of the Western Cape of South Afri... more In this dissertation I investigate the Christmas Bands Movement of the Western Cape of South Africa. I document this centuries-old expressive practice of ushering in the joy of Christmas through music by way of a social history of the colored communities. The term colored is a local racialized designation for people of mixed descent–often perceived as of mixed-race by the segregationist and apartheid ideologues. In the complexity of race relations in South Africa these communities have emerged largely within the black/white interstices and remained marginal to the socio-cultural and political landscape. Their ancestral area is the Western Cape where most still live and where several of their expressive practices can be witnessed over the festive season in the summer months from December through March. The Christmas Bands Movement is one of three parading practices that are active during this period.
Drawing on Foucault’s notion of “embodied subjectivity” and Butler’s work on gender and performativity, I explore three main themes, two of which are overlapping, throughout this dissertation. First, I investigate how the bands constitute themselves as respectable members of society through disciplinary routines, uniform dress, and military gestures. Second, I show how the band members constitute their subjectivity both individually as a member and collectively as a band; each has a mutual impact on the other. Even though the notion of subjectivity is more concerned with the inner thoughts and experiences and their concern with respectability is an outward manifestation of a social ideal, these two themes overlap as both relate to how the members constitute themselves. Third, I explore how the emergent gender politics, given renewed emphasis in the new South African constitution (1995) has played out in local expressive practices through the women’s insistence on being an integral part of the performance activities of the Christmas Bands Movement. Their acceptance into the Christmas Bands has transformed the historically gendered perception of the bands as male-only expressive forms. Furthermore, I will illustrate how this cultural practice has gained in popularity during the last seventeen years of democratic rule in South Africa, which may suggest that the historical marginality of the communities is still very present.
An ethnographic interpretation of the Christmas Bands Movement in the Western Cape of South Afric... more An ethnographic interpretation of the Christmas Bands Movement in the Western Cape of South Africa, using Foucault's notion of embodied subjectivity to analyse how the band members constitute their subjectivities both individually and collectively.
The Christmas Band competitions are one of three coloured community music competitions that take ... more The Christmas Band competitions are one of three coloured community music competitions that take place in the Western Cape between January and March every year, the other two being the klopse (carnival troupes) and the Malay choirs. Christmas bands, which first began holding formal competitions in the 1940s, developed out of city clubs established under British colonial rule in the Cape Colony and the Temperance movement, both of which imbued the bands with the idea of presenting a respectable working class ethos through the use of stylish uniforms, strict discipline and implied militarism in the marching files. The bands characterise and preserve notions of masculinity, bond local communities of supporters, help to train musicians, and through the annual enactment of an ideal coloured community help working class people to present themselves as upright and honourable members of society. The practices engaged in by the bands constitute a performance of identity: the articulation of a social identity, which, though marginalized and contested, is nonetheless proudly independent and united.
This article considers various musical literacies currently practised by the Christmas bands of t... more This article considers various musical literacies currently practised by the Christmas bands of the Western Cape, South Africa, transitioning from an essentially oral practice to a literate one. Historically, band repertoire was learnt orally and generationally, ensuring the preservation of a locally distinctive band sound. The article investigates whether this unique sound is compromised by the adoption of newer teaching methods attached to reading staff notation and the inclusion of university-trained musicians as instructors and directors of the bands.
... (2003). Approx. 52 minutes, English and Zulu, English subtitles. ... It has extensive intervi... more ... (2003). Approx. 52 minutes, English and Zulu, English subtitles. ... It has extensive interviews with kwaito artists Zola and Arthur interspersed with clips of performances of Cape hip-hop groups Godessa and Black Noise. There is also footage of youth culture in Zanzibar. ...
In this dissertation I investigate the Christmas Bands Movement of the Western Cape of South Afri... more In this dissertation I investigate the Christmas Bands Movement of the Western Cape of South Africa. I document this centuries-old expressive practice of ushering in the joy of Christmas through music by way of a social history of the colored communities. The term colored is a local racialized designation for people of mixed descent–often perceived as of mixed-race by the segregationist and apartheid ideologues. In the complexity of race relations in South Africa these communities have emerged largely within the black/white interstices and remained marginal to the socio-cultural and political landscape. Their ancestral area is the Western Cape where most still live and where several of their expressive practices can be witnessed over the festive season in the summer months from December through March. The Christmas Bands Movement is one of three parading practices that are active during this period.
Drawing on Foucault’s notion of “embodied subjectivity” and Butler’s work on gender and performativity, I explore three main themes, two of which are overlapping, throughout this dissertation. First, I investigate how the bands constitute themselves as respectable members of society through disciplinary routines, uniform dress, and military gestures. Second, I show how the band members constitute their subjectivity both individually as a member and collectively as a band; each has a mutual impact on the other. Even though the notion of subjectivity is more concerned with the inner thoughts and experiences and their concern with respectability is an outward manifestation of a social ideal, these two themes overlap as both relate to how the members constitute themselves. Third, I explore how the emergent gender politics, given renewed emphasis in the new South African constitution (1995) has played out in local expressive practices through the women’s insistence on being an integral part of the performance activities of the Christmas Bands Movement. Their acceptance into the Christmas Bands has transformed the historically gendered perception of the bands as male-only expressive forms. Furthermore, I will illustrate how this cultural practice has gained in popularity during the last seventeen years of democratic rule in South Africa, which may suggest that the historical marginality of the communities is still very present.
An ethnographic interpretation of the Christmas Bands Movement in the Western Cape of South Afric... more An ethnographic interpretation of the Christmas Bands Movement in the Western Cape of South Africa, using Foucault's notion of embodied subjectivity to analyse how the band members constitute their subjectivities both individually and collectively.
The Christmas Band competitions are one of three coloured community music competitions that take ... more The Christmas Band competitions are one of three coloured community music competitions that take place in the Western Cape between January and March every year, the other two being the klopse (carnival troupes) and the Malay choirs. Christmas bands, which first began holding formal competitions in the 1940s, developed out of city clubs established under British colonial rule in the Cape Colony and the Temperance movement, both of which imbued the bands with the idea of presenting a respectable working class ethos through the use of stylish uniforms, strict discipline and implied militarism in the marching files. The bands characterise and preserve notions of masculinity, bond local communities of supporters, help to train musicians, and through the annual enactment of an ideal coloured community help working class people to present themselves as upright and honourable members of society. The practices engaged in by the bands constitute a performance of identity: the articulation of a social identity, which, though marginalized and contested, is nonetheless proudly independent and united.
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Papers by Sylvia R Bruinders
Drawing on Foucault’s notion of “embodied subjectivity” and Butler’s work on gender and performativity, I explore three main themes, two of which are overlapping, throughout this dissertation. First, I investigate how the bands constitute themselves as respectable members of society through disciplinary routines, uniform dress, and military gestures. Second, I show how the band members constitute their subjectivity both individually as a member and collectively as a band; each has a mutual impact on the other. Even though the notion of subjectivity is more concerned with the inner thoughts and experiences and their concern with respectability is an outward manifestation of a social ideal, these two themes overlap as both relate to how the members constitute themselves. Third, I explore how the emergent gender politics, given renewed emphasis in the new South African constitution (1995) has played out in local expressive practices through the women’s insistence on being an integral part of the performance activities of the Christmas Bands Movement. Their acceptance into the Christmas Bands has transformed the historically gendered perception of the bands as male-only expressive forms. Furthermore, I will illustrate how this cultural practice has gained in popularity during the last seventeen years of democratic rule in South Africa, which may suggest that the historical marginality of the communities is still very present.
movement, both of which imbued the bands with the idea of presenting a respectable working class ethos through the use of stylish uniforms, strict discipline and implied militarism in the marching files. The bands characterise and preserve notions of
masculinity, bond local communities of supporters, help to train musicians, and through the annual enactment of an ideal coloured community help working class people to present themselves as upright and honourable members of society. The practices engaged in by the bands constitute a performance of identity: the articulation of a social identity, which, though marginalized and contested, is nonetheless proudly independent and united.
Drawing on Foucault’s notion of “embodied subjectivity” and Butler’s work on gender and performativity, I explore three main themes, two of which are overlapping, throughout this dissertation. First, I investigate how the bands constitute themselves as respectable members of society through disciplinary routines, uniform dress, and military gestures. Second, I show how the band members constitute their subjectivity both individually as a member and collectively as a band; each has a mutual impact on the other. Even though the notion of subjectivity is more concerned with the inner thoughts and experiences and their concern with respectability is an outward manifestation of a social ideal, these two themes overlap as both relate to how the members constitute themselves. Third, I explore how the emergent gender politics, given renewed emphasis in the new South African constitution (1995) has played out in local expressive practices through the women’s insistence on being an integral part of the performance activities of the Christmas Bands Movement. Their acceptance into the Christmas Bands has transformed the historically gendered perception of the bands as male-only expressive forms. Furthermore, I will illustrate how this cultural practice has gained in popularity during the last seventeen years of democratic rule in South Africa, which may suggest that the historical marginality of the communities is still very present.
movement, both of which imbued the bands with the idea of presenting a respectable working class ethos through the use of stylish uniforms, strict discipline and implied militarism in the marching files. The bands characterise and preserve notions of
masculinity, bond local communities of supporters, help to train musicians, and through the annual enactment of an ideal coloured community help working class people to present themselves as upright and honourable members of society. The practices engaged in by the bands constitute a performance of identity: the articulation of a social identity, which, though marginalized and contested, is nonetheless proudly independent and united.