Exploring the origins, organization, subject matter, and performance contexts of singers and singing, Women's Songs from West Africa expands our understanding of the world of women in West Africa and their complex and subtle roles as verbal artists. Covering C?te d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and beyond, the essays attest to the importance of womens contributions to the most widespread form of verbal art in Africa.
These essays affirm the importance of women performers and the importance of the songs in articulating women's issues in the Sahel region of Africa today.
Introduction
Womens Songs and Singing in West Africa: New Perspectives
Thomas A. Hale and Aissata G. Sidikou
1. Wolof Women Break the Taboo of Sex through Songs
Marame Gueye
2. Jola Kanyalen Songs from the Casamance, Sengeal: From Tradition to Globalization Kirsten Langeveld
3. Azna Deities in the Songs of Taguimba Bouzou: A Window on the Visible and Invisible
Boub? Nama?wa
4. Initiation and Funeral Songs from the Guro of C?te d'Ivoire
Ariane Deluz
5. Praises Performances by Jalimusolu in The Gambia
Marloes Janson
6. Music about Feminine Modernity in the Sahara
Aline Tauzin
7. Songs by Wolof Women
Luciana Penna-Diaw
8. A Heroic Performance by Siramori Diabate of Mali
Brahima Camara and Jan Jansen
9. Womens Tattooing Songs from Kajoor, Senegal
George Joseph
10. Drummed Poems by Songhay-Zarma Women of Niger
Fatima Mounka?la
11. Space, Language, and Identity in the Palm Tree
Aissata G. Sidikou
12. Bambara Womens Songs in Southern Mali
Bah Diakit?
13. Patriarchy in Songs and Poetry by Zarma Women
Aissata Niandou
14. Muslim Hausa Womens Songs
Beverly B. Mack
15. Lamentation and Politics in the Sahelian Song
Thomas A. Hale
16. Transformations in Tuareg Tende Singing: Womens Voices and Local Feminisms
Susan J. Rasmussen
17. Income Strategies of a Jelimuso in Mali and Flƒ*