The Akazehe of Burundi: Polyphonic Interlocking Greetings and the Female Ceremonial. By Serena Facci. Translated by Alessandra Ciucci.

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Translated by Alessandra Ciucci. | Ethnomusicology Translations </title> <link rel="icon" href="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/public/journals/58/favicon_en_US.ico"> <meta name="generator" content="Open Journal Systems 3.2.1.4"> <meta name="gs_meta_revision" content="1.1"/> <meta name="citation_journal_title" content="Ethnomusicology Translations"/> <meta name="citation_journal_abbrev" content="EMT"/> <meta name="citation_issn" content="2473-6422"/> <meta name="citation_author" content="Serena Facci"/> <meta name="citation_author_institution" content="University of Rome "Tor Vergata""/> <meta name="citation_author" content="Alessandra Ciucci"/> <meta name="citation_author_institution" content="Columbia University"/> <meta name="citation_title" content="The Akazehe of Burundi: Polyphonic Interlocking Greetings and the Female Ceremonial. By Serena Facci. Translated by Alessandra Ciucci."/> <meta name="citation_language" content="en"/> <meta name="citation_date" content="2020/04/24"/> <meta name="citation_issue" content="10"/> <meta name="citation_firstpage" content="1"/> <meta name="citation_lastpage" content="37"/> <meta name="citation_doi" content="10.14434/emt.v0i10.30278"/> <meta name="citation_abstract_html_url" content="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/emt/article/view/30278"/> <meta name="citation_pdf_url" content="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/emt/article/download/30278/34694"/> <link rel="schema.DC" href="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" /> <meta name="DC.Date.created" scheme="ISO8601" content="2020-04-24"/> <meta name="DC.Date.dateSubmitted" scheme="ISO8601" content="2020-04-24"/> <meta name="DC.Date.issued" scheme="ISO8601" content="2020-04-29"/> <meta name="DC.Date.modified" scheme="ISO8601" content="2021-02-13"/> <meta name="DC.Description" xml:lang="en" content="Akazehe is one of the names in Burundi for forms of sung greeting performed exclusively by women. Studies carried out during the colonial era (in particular Rodegem 1965, 1973) and in more recent times (Ndimurwanko 1985-6) have shown how the contents of these greetings among women are closely linked to the feminine world in which these greetings are used—in specific private and public spaces in accordance with rural tradition. Although these greetings were becoming less common at the time the research for this article was conducted, the author was able to record a number of akazehe after listening to examples of them in the sound archives of the Centre de civilisation burundaise. A greeting is defined by linguists as a formalized parenthesis that defines, reiterates, and encloses the relation between two participants. The formulaic character of a greeting makes it different from ordinary speech. In the case of the akazehe, the greeting emphasizes gestural and sound qualities to such an extent that it creates a veritable musical texture. This article presents transcriptions and analysis of some models of akazehe, focusing on one that features procedures of vocal interlocking. The two parts—gutera and kwakira—are organized according to musical rules that manifest a strong spirit of cooperation between the two women who sing the two parts in dialogue. Furthermore, well-defined rules of exchange for the two roles semantically remind us of the social equality between the two participants. The musical enrichment of the time reserved for the greeting is experienced as amusing by the performers. The greeting also represents an opportunity for artistic expression in a social reality that otherwise allows few performance spaces for women. Citation: Facci, Serena.&nbsp;The Akazehe&nbsp;of Burundi: Polyphonic Interlocking Greetings and the Female Ceremonial. Translated by Alessandria Ciucci. Ethnomusicology Translations, no. 10. Bloomington, IN: Society for Ethnomusicology, 2020. Originally published in Italian as "Akazehe del Burundi: saluti a incastro polifonico e cerimonialità femminile." In&nbsp;Polifonie: Procedimenti, tassonomi e forme: una reflessione a più voci, edited by Maurizio Agamennone, 123-61. Roma: Bulzoni Editore, 1996. Note to Reader: This 13 mb PDF file includes musical transcriptions and embedded audio tracks. Embedded audio will not work when viewed in a browser; the file must be downloaded and opened in Adobe Acrobat. 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By Serena Facci. Translated by Alessandra Ciucci. </h1> </header> <div class="row"> <section class="article-sidebar col-md-4"> <h2 class="sr-only">Article Sidebar</h2> <div class="download"> <a class="galley-link btn btn-primary pdf" role="button" href="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/emt/article/view/30278/34694"> PDF </a> </div> <div class="list-group"> <div class="list-group-item date-published"> <strong>Published:</strong> Apr 24, 2020 </div> <div class="list-group-item doi"> <strong>DOI:</strong> <a href="https://doi.org/10.14434/emt.v0i10.30278"> https://doi.org/10.14434/emt.v0i10.30278 </a> </div> </div> </section> <div class="col-md-8"> <section class="article-main"> <h2 class="sr-only">Main Article Content</h2> <div class="authors"> <div class="author"> <strong>Serena Facci</strong> <div class="article-author-affilitation"> University of Rome "Tor Vergata" </div> </div> <div class="author"> <strong>Alessandra Ciucci</strong> <div class="article-author-affilitation"> Columbia University </div> </div> </div> <div class="article-summary" id="summary"> <h2>Abstract</h2> <div class="article-abstract"> <p><em>Akazehe</em> is one of the names in Burundi for forms of sung greeting performed exclusively by women. Studies carried out during the colonial era (in particular Rodegem 1965, 1973) and in more recent times (Ndimurwanko 1985-6) have shown how the contents of these greetings among women are closely linked to the feminine world in which these greetings are used—in specific private and public spaces in accordance with rural tradition. Although these greetings were becoming less common at the time the research for this article was conducted, the author was able to record a number of <em>akazehe</em> after listening to examples of them in the sound archives of the Centre de civilisation burundaise.</p><br /> <p>A greeting is defined by linguists as a formalized parenthesis that defines, reiterates, and encloses the relation between two participants. The formulaic character of a greeting makes it different from ordinary speech. In the case of the <em>akazehe</em>, the greeting emphasizes gestural and sound qualities to such an extent that it creates a veritable musical texture.</p><br /> <p>This article presents transcriptions and analysis of some models of <em>akazehe</em>, focusing on one that features procedures of vocal interlocking. The two parts—<em>gutera</em> and <em>kwakira</em>—are organized according to musical rules that manifest a strong spirit of cooperation between the two women who sing the two parts in dialogue. Furthermore, well-defined rules of exchange for the two roles semantically remind us of the social equality between the two participants. The musical enrichment of the time reserved for the greeting is experienced as amusing by the performers. The greeting also represents an opportunity for artistic expression in a social reality that otherwise allows few performance spaces for women.</p><br /> <p>Citation: Facci, Serena. <em>The</em> Akazehe <em>of Burundi: Polyphonic Interlocking Greetings and the Female Ceremonial</em>. Translated by Alessandria Ciucci. Ethnomusicology Translations, no. 10. Bloomington, IN: Society for Ethnomusicology, 2020.</p><br /> <p>Originally published in Italian as "<em>Akazehe</em> del Burundi: saluti a incastro polifonico e cerimonialità femminile." In <em>Polifonie: Procedimenti, tassonomi e forme: una reflessione a più voci</em>, edited by Maurizio Agamennone, 123-61. Roma: Bulzoni Editore, 1996.</p><br /> <p>Note to Reader: This 13 mb PDF file includes musical transcriptions and embedded audio tracks. Embedded audio will not work when viewed in a browser; the file must be downloaded and opened in Adobe Acrobat. Please ensure that your Flash Player is up to date and that Acrobat "trusts" the document. </p> </div> </div> <div class="item downloads_chart"> <h3 class="label"> Downloads </h3> <div class="value"> <canvas class="usageStatsGraph" data-object-type="Submission" data-object-id="30278"></canvas> <div class="usageStatsUnavailable" data-object-type="Submission" data-object-id="30278"> Download data is not yet available. </div> </div> </div> </section> <section class="article-more-details"> <h2 class="sr-only">Article Details</h2> <div class="panel panel-default issue"> <div class="panel-heading"> Issue </div> <div class="panel-body"> <a class="title" href="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/emt/issue/view/2026"> No. 10 (2020) </a> </div> </div> <div class="panel panel-default section"> <div class="panel-heading"> Section </div> <div class="panel-body"> Translations </div> </div> <div class="panel panel-default copyright"> <div class="panel-body"> <p>A <strong>copyright holder of an original article</strong> published in this series agrees to the following terms:<strong><br /> </strong><br /> By submitting to Ethnomusicology Translations, the copyright holder grants to Ethnomusicology Translations the non-exclusive right to translate the submission into English.<br /> <br /> By submitting to Ethnomusicology Translations, the copyright holder grants to Ethnomusicology Translations the non-exclusive right to distribute an English-language translation of the submission worldwide in electronic format, print format, and/or any other medium.<br /> <br /> The copyright holder represents that the submission is an original work and that they possess the right to grant the rights contained in this agreement. The copyright holder also represents that the submission does not, to the best of their knowledge, infringe upon anyone’s copyright.<br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>A translator</strong> who publishes with this series agree to the following terms:<br /> <br /> The translator retains the copyright to his/her translation.<br /> <br /> By submitting to Ethnomusicology Translations, the translator grants to Ethnomusicology Translations the non-exclusive right to reproduce, transform (as defined below), and/or distribute his/her submission worldwide in electronic format, print format, and/or any other medium.<br /> <br /> The translator agrees that Ethnomusicology Translations may, without changing the content, transform the submission to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation.<br /> <br /> The translator agrees that Ethnomusicology Translations may keep more than one copy of this submission for purposes of security, back-up, and preservation.<br /> <br /> The translator represents that the submission is his/her original translation and that he/she has the right to grant the rights contained in this agreement. The translator also represents that his/her submission does not, to the best of his/her knowledge, infringe upon anyone’s copyright.<br /> <br /> The translator may enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of Ethnomusicology Translations’ published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in Ethnomusicology Translations.</p> </div> </div> </section> </div> </div> </article> </div> </main> </div>  <footer class="rvt-footer" role=""> <div class="rvt-footer__trident"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="25" viewBox="0 0 20 25"> <polygon points="13.33 3.32 13.33 5.21 14.76 5.21 14.76 15.64 11.9 15.64 11.9 1.9 13.33 1.9 13.33 0 6.67 0 6.67 1.9 8.09 1.9 8.09 15.64 5.24 15.64 5.24 5.21 6.67 5.21 6.67 3.32 0 3.32 0 5.21 1.43 5.21 1.43 17.47 3.7 19.91 8.09 19.91 8.09 22.76 6.67 22.76 6.67 25.13 13.33 25.13 13.33 22.76 11.9 22.76 11.9 19.91 16.1 19.91 18.56 17.47 18.56 5.21 20 5.21 20 3.32 13.33 3.32" fill="#900"/> </svg> </div> <ul class="rvt-footer__aux-links"> <li class="rvt-footer__aux-item"> <a href="https://accessibility.iu.edu/assistance/">Accessibility</a> </li> <li class="rvt-footer__aux-item">  <a href="https://libraries.indiana.edu/privacy">Privacy Notice</a> </li> <li class="rvt-footer__aux-item"> <a href="https://www.iu.edu/copyright/index.html">Copyright</a> © 2025 The Trustees of <a href="https://www.iu.edu/">Indiana University</a> </li> </ul> </footer>  </div> <script src="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/lib/pkp/lib/vendor/components/jquery/jquery.min.js?v=3.2.1.4" type="text/javascript"></script><script src="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/lib/pkp/lib/vendor/components/jqueryui/jquery-ui.min.js?v=3.2.1.4" type="text/javascript"></script><script src="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/lib/pkp/js/lib/jquery/plugins/jquery.tag-it.js?v=3.2.1.4" type="text/javascript"></script><script src="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/plugins/themes/bootstrap3/bootstrap/js/bootstrap.min.js?v=3.2.1.4" type="text/javascript"></script><script src="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/plugins/themes/bootstrap3/iusw/rivet.js?v=3.2.1.4" type="text/javascript"></script><script type="text/javascript">var pkpUsageStats = pkpUsageStats || {};pkpUsageStats.data = pkpUsageStats.data || {};pkpUsageStats.data.Submission = pkpUsageStats.data.Submission || {};pkpUsageStats.data.Submission[30278] = {"data":{"2020":{"1":0,"2":0,"3":0,"4":38,"5":27,"6":9,"7":15,"8":27,"9":41,"10":9,"11":11,"12":4},"2021":{"1":9,"2":7,"3":13,"4":27,"5":19,"6":8,"7":16,"8":10,"9":15,"10":34,"11":22,"12":26},"2022":{"1":32,"2":48,"3":16,"4":22,"5":22,"6":25,"7":13,"8":31,"9":24,"10":25,"11":22,"12":26},"2023":{"1":16,"2":24,"3":32,"4":17,"5":8,"6":14,"7":27,"8":30,"9":28,"10":39,"11":93,"12":70},"2024":{"1":39,"2":24,"3":26,"4":33,"5":18,"6":12,"7":30,"8":17,"9":9,"10":17,"11":23,"12":11},"2025":{"1":6,"2":6,"3":0,"4":0,"5":0,"6":0,"7":0,"8":0,"9":0,"10":0,"11":0,"12":0}},"label":"All Downloads","color":"79,181,217","total":1362};</script><script src="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/plugins/generic/usageStats/js/Chart.js?v=3.2.1.4" type="text/javascript"></script><script type="text/javascript">var pkpUsageStats = pkpUsageStats || {};pkpUsageStats.locale = pkpUsageStats.locale || {};pkpUsageStats.locale.months = ["Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun","Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec"];pkpUsageStats.config = pkpUsageStats.config || {};pkpUsageStats.config.chartType = "bar";</script><script src="https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/plugins/generic/usageStats/js/UsageStatsFrontendHandler.js?v=3.2.1.4" type="text/javascript"></script><script type="text/javascript"> var _paq = _paq || []; _paq.push(['trackPageView']); _paq.push(['enableLinkTracking']); (function() { var u="//matomo.dlib.indiana.edu/piwik/"; _paq.push(['setTrackerUrl', u+'piwik.php']); _paq.push(['setSiteId', 30]); _paq.push(['setDocumentTitle', "emt"]); var d=document, g=d.createElement('script'), s=d.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; g.type='text/javascript'; g.async=true; g.defer=true; g.src=u+'piwik.js'; s.parentNode.insertBefore(g,s); })();</script> </body> </html>

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The Akazehe of Burundi: Polyphonic Interlocking Greetings and the Female Ceremonial. By Serena Facci. Translated by Alessandra Ciucci. | Ethnomusicology Translations