Interpreting Court Song in Uganda

DAMASCUS KAFUMBE is the Edward C. Knox Professor of International Studies and professor of music at Middlebury College in Vermont. He is the series editor of the University of Rochester Press' series Eastman/Rochester Studies in Ethnomusicology.

• Prologue: Songs, Stories, and StrategiesPart I: Foundations1. Political Landscape, Court Music, and Research Collaborators2. Research Methods and Approaches to Lyrical Interpretation3. A Multi-Epistemological Framework: Theoretical Discourses and Canons Part II: Songs about Political Engagement, Criticism, and Commentary4. "The Handsome Catch a Slight Squint": False Praise5. "Fair-Skinned": Flattery, Deceit, and Satire6. "As He Plucked Them": Greed and Selfishness7. "Householder": Mourning and Ridicule8. "Federalism": Manipulation, Exploitation, and Reciprocity Part III: Songs about Leadership and Responsibility9. "Unadvisable Kayemba": Advice and Caution10. "He Has a Lot on His Mind": Deliberation and Animosity11. "Gganga Had a Narrow Escape" or "They Chopped Off His Fingers": Punishment and Mercy Part IV: Songs about Loyalty and Duty12. "I Would Have Given You a Large Haplochromis": Regret and Appreciation13. "The Flutists' Legal Case": Lament and Uncertainty14. "The Little Lion": Power and Selfishness15. "The King Is a Lion": Reverence and Love Part V: Songs about Mutuality and Cooperation16. "Mawanda Loves His Men" and "They Show Each Other Stumps": Love, Unity, and Reciprocity17. "Baamunaanika Hill": Genuine Praise18. "We Love the Supreme Man Exceedingly": Love and Respect Part VI: Songs about Conflict and Loss19. "Ssematimba and Kikwabanga": War and Fate20. "Poland": War and Imperialism21. "The Battle of Nsinsi": Civil War22. "Let Me Plod with a Stick Close to Kibuuka": Disagreement and Invocation23. "The Pebble is Breaking Me": Mortality and Spirituality Author InterviewsWorks CitedIndex

Deeply researched and elegantly presented, Damascus Kafumbe's Interpreting Court Song in Uganda is a standout contribution to our understanding of the African verbal arts. Drawing on a corpus of twenty-one songs from the repertoire of Buganda court music, Kafumbe unpacks their lyrics, lays bare their imaginative realms and explains the forces that enabled their construction. Notable are the voices of culture-bearers, who are featured here not only as sources of information but as co-interpreters of meaning. Notable, too, is the judicious engagement with theoretical issues raised by this mode of knowledge production. By exemplifying ways in which interpretation can be historically and culturally grounded and at the same time open, multi-faceted and plural, Interpreting Court Song in Uganda outlines numerous rich possibilities for a hermeneutics of African narrative. A must-read for all interested in African song culture.