Discussion Questions for Jones-Bamman
Discussion Questions (please respond, as usual, in "Comments" below):
1. What is the goal of this article? How do types of evidence, sources cited, and conclusions drawn help us understand what Jones-Bamman is seeking to accomplish? Hint: ask yourself the “So What?” and “Who Cares?” questions: that is, what is the significance of this article and for whom (which areas of scholarship) might it be useful and/or enlightening?
2. What is the impact or relevance of colonialism in the case of Saami culture and music? What was the historical impact of the colonial experience on Saami? What was the cultural impact? In the “post-colonial” period, what are the legacies of colonialism?
3. It seems to me that “appropriation” is a key term/concept in the case of both this article and in the case of those modern Saami singers who combined joiking with other and/or modern styles. Be prepared to define “appropriation” as it operates in this specific article, and to discuss its application and/or relevance to understanding the issues that these musicians faced. Moreover, can you think of parallel examples, perhaps from other readings?
4. Be prepared to explore the issue of “authenticity” in this case. The term is not necessarily employed, but I would argue that joiking, in the case of the Saami and of this article, came to represent “authenticity.” What were the prior associations of joiking? What strategies did Saami singers and cultural advocates employ to try to shift or “flip” these associations?
5. (further to 3 & 4 above) In light of this historical case, what is the relationship between minority ó majority; subordinate ó dominant; “primitive” versus “authentic”; and appropriation ó assimilation ó syncresis ó acculturation. I believe it is possible to relate all of these dichotomies, thereby building a model, applicable across cultures, which helps us understand and perhaps even predict the ways in which these interactions may operate.
6. What is the relationship, as laid out in this article, between joiking, cultural identity, and liminality? Be prepared to describe and explain. Moreover, be prepared to relate cultural identity, subordinate status, appropriation, and liminality. As with Question #5 above, I believe it is possible to build a model relating all four of these factors, and applicable across cultural situations.
7. What is the role of music in “cultural revitalization” initiatives? (Hint: see pp357ff) What are the nationalist motives driving cultural revitalization initiatives? What are the ethnic or minority motives? Do nationalist versus minority motives clash? Do they align? When and for what reasons? Cite examples from this particular case study.
8. Be prepared to summarize and describe the debates held by various Saami cultural advocates: governmental, academic, Saami, and Saami-in-the-Diaspora. All of these parties believed in the value of joiking as a tool in redressing the post-colonial legacy (see 2 above), but at various points in the debate (detailed by Jones-Bamman) all found themselves in disagreement about how, whether, and in what ways to employ it. What were the terms of this debate? What do those terms reveal about the issues that often arise in post-colonialist cultural-revivalist situations? (cf Dr Smith’s comments about many analogous situations elsewhere)
1. What is the goal of this article? How do types of evidence, sources cited, and conclusions drawn help us understand what Jones-Bamman is seeking to accomplish? Hint: ask yourself the “So What?” and “Who Cares?” questions: that is, what is the significance of this article and for whom (which areas of scholarship) might it be useful and/or enlightening?
2. What is the impact or relevance of colonialism in the case of Saami culture and music? What was the historical impact of the colonial experience on Saami? What was the cultural impact? In the “post-colonial” period, what are the legacies of colonialism?
3. It seems to me that “appropriation” is a key term/concept in the case of both this article and in the case of those modern Saami singers who combined joiking with other and/or modern styles. Be prepared to define “appropriation” as it operates in this specific article, and to discuss its application and/or relevance to understanding the issues that these musicians faced. Moreover, can you think of parallel examples, perhaps from other readings?
4. Be prepared to explore the issue of “authenticity” in this case. The term is not necessarily employed, but I would argue that joiking, in the case of the Saami and of this article, came to represent “authenticity.” What were the prior associations of joiking? What strategies did Saami singers and cultural advocates employ to try to shift or “flip” these associations?
5. (further to 3 & 4 above) In light of this historical case, what is the relationship between minority ó majority; subordinate ó dominant; “primitive” versus “authentic”; and appropriation ó assimilation ó syncresis ó acculturation. I believe it is possible to relate all of these dichotomies, thereby building a model, applicable across cultures, which helps us understand and perhaps even predict the ways in which these interactions may operate.
6. What is the relationship, as laid out in this article, between joiking, cultural identity, and liminality? Be prepared to describe and explain. Moreover, be prepared to relate cultural identity, subordinate status, appropriation, and liminality. As with Question #5 above, I believe it is possible to build a model relating all four of these factors, and applicable across cultural situations.
7. What is the role of music in “cultural revitalization” initiatives? (Hint: see pp357ff) What are the nationalist motives driving cultural revitalization initiatives? What are the ethnic or minority motives? Do nationalist versus minority motives clash? Do they align? When and for what reasons? Cite examples from this particular case study.
8. Be prepared to summarize and describe the debates held by various Saami cultural advocates: governmental, academic, Saami, and Saami-in-the-Diaspora. All of these parties believed in the value of joiking as a tool in redressing the post-colonial legacy (see 2 above), but at various points in the debate (detailed by Jones-Bamman) all found themselves in disagreement about how, whether, and in what ways to employ it. What were the terms of this debate? What do those terms reveal about the issues that often arise in post-colonialist cultural-revivalist situations? (cf Dr Smith’s comments about many analogous situations elsewhere)
posted by CJS at 9:21 AM
13 Comments:
1. I think the goal of this article is to show the reader what this joiking has gone through in only 50 years. He wanted to show the reader about the Saami culture and explain what this vocal genre of joiking is all about. He cited song lyrics from Jonsson and Lars Jonas displaying where Saami and joking music was in the early beginnings, and where it was taken over a period of thirty years. I think that Jones-Bamman might also be writing this article to make the reader aware of not only the Saami and their culture, but about other cultures as well. Even on page 353 Jones-Bamman talks about how "there have been those arguing these efforts to merge popular genres with Saami musical ideas...that result in something of dubious value to Saami culture." There have been those that oppose the use of the Saami dialect or language in popular music because it degrades the traditions of the culture. There are also people who say that this should happen because otherwise no one will get a taste of Saami culture. Most Saami youth do not even speak the tradition language. Jones-Bamman wrote this to show that there are different vehicles that appeal to different generations of culture. If the older generation won't record some traditional joiking, then it takes people thinking outside of the box to appeal to the new Saami youth.
3. Appropriation is a key term in this article. People will often do things that they deem themselves appropriate. If it suits their needs then they will put it into effect. These Saami artists did just that. Sven-Gosta Jonsson did just that. He would sing in the style of the time, but he would also wear traditonal Saami costumes. As Jones-Bamman said on pg 353, "Jonsson was a man caught between two cultures." Jonsson also did not sing in traditonal Saami language, but decided to sing in Swedish. However, he did sing about his culture, which for him was the right thing to do. He used appropriation to the fullest. Lars Jonas even said "I am Saami" on his 1991 CD. He also sang in Saami, which not many people of Saami heritage did. He also sang in the traditonal joiking, but also did joking with instruments, which was not the same as traditional joiking. Traditional joiking used no accompaniment. Johansso believed that "younger Saami listeners would be more inclined to identify with this genre, and thus pay more attention to his message." He knew that this was not the traditional way of joiking and that an older generation might be angered at him for doing so. But he thought that this was a way to get to the youth and to encourage the Saami youth to take interest in their culture. Johansson himself said "if you are going to turn around the youth, then you have to use a little of their language and the musical style they want to listen to." He knew that this is not what was original, but is what might get the Saami youth to listen to their language and get excited about being a Saami again. For so long it was wrong to be Saami, or Lap. People of Saami heritage did not tell anyone because they did not want to associate themselves with it. Johansson tried to figure out a way to make it cool to be a Saami again.
1, 3: This article could definitely be useful to anyone interested in the concept of cultural property. Joiking is presented here as a cultural commodity. Based on the strong pro vs. anti debate surrounding the use of joiking in non-traditional musical settings, I would have to say that this presentation is quite accurate. A far as the appropriation discussion goes, I would like to this question into the mix: are these musicians appropriating cultural property for the purpose of infusing politics into their pop music or are they appropriating pop to provide a wider venue for their cultural property? I would argue that Sven-Gösta’s music has an air of opportunism with almost no political agenda at all. Therefore it is closer to the latter. The Almetjh Tjöönghkeme version definitely seems to be the former.
Danielle’s Jones-Bamman Comments
1. I think that Jones-Bamman is trying to show how music can serve as a tool to
help people negotiate identity. He cites historical evidence and political
events, as well as biographies of individual musicians and their experiences.
In this way, Jones-Bamman creates a very broad picture of not just the musical
elements per se, but also of the social changes and how these changes were
received by various parties. He examines the situation chronologically,
establishing a firm sense of progression towards greater dialogue and a sense of
“improvement.” Jones-Bamman makes it a point to show how the changes were
viewed both positively and negatively, but in the end, impacted most
successfully in the realm of dialogue. This article seems to lend itself
towards advocacy ethnomusicology; one gets a sense of cheering on the Saami.
4. Joiking, in this article, came to represent the “authentic.” This may be
due in part to the fact that joiking was a deep part of Saami tradition.
Joiking was very much based on a local/familial/personal experience and varied
region to region. Joiking became even more a secluded event once it was frowned
upon by general non-Saami society. Joiking had negative connotations, mainly
that of being “heathen.” Saami singers and cultural advocates began by
integrating joiking slowly and including other elements in order to acclimate
their listeners to the change of content.
1, 3. Jones-Bamman's article details the pivotal role music can have in social change. In his introductory paragraphs he writes, "... music played an unexpected role as well, particularly popular recordings created for Saami audiences..." (pg. 351) Jones-Bamman questions whether the replacement of traditional vocal genre "joik" with popular vocal genre suggests a shift within the culture.
This matters because such research can serve as a foundation into our own culture. For example, in the 1950's many white popular artists began to appropriate the musical style of Black musicians. Musical Styles that were not accepted by the mainstream (certainly when performed by African-Americans) began to slowly gain acceptance when presented by clean-cut, Red-blooded American boys.
1. In this article Jones-Bamman seeks to show the progression of ‘joiking’ over the years as a tool for, as stated by other commenter, political and social ‘progress’ In the first sentence JB talks of Saamis trying to secure their place as an ‘ethnic minority’. It is an informative article showing the support and resistance to the traditional and contemporary performance and recording. Who cares? Those whom it effects (the members of the cultural community) and the supporters/advocates (the listeners).
4. Joiking is described a Saami’s “unique vocal genre… by soloists without any instrumental accompaniment”. This can be described as the authentic music of the Saami. It was used in popular music and was added to. As stated in the ‘Coda’, critics warn that this new experimented version “should not be confused with traditional concepts of joik”.
1. Jones-Bamman is writing about the Sammi who are a growing population of people who are striving for more recognition. I believe that Jones-Bamman want to inform the reader about the different perspectives in which the goals and aspirations of the Sammi and their cultures are perceived. In addition to the people and their culture, I believe that Jones-Bamman is also trying to educate the readers about “their own unique vocal genre Joik” in an effort to help get at the first point as to why these people feel they have not got the recognition they deserve as well as what they have to bring to the table of the performing arts. This will also have great significance later on as they discuss replacing or greatly modifying their tradition vocal genre.
3. In deciding where music in this sub-community one of the greatest areas for debate amongst these insiders is what is appropriate for reform. There is amongst all people in all cultures a debate about what should be left traditional in an effort to be respectful to a genre, but there is also the need for change and reform and it seems that the Sammi are in a large liminal state where the future of their music is still being decided. Many people want to incorporate that of the popular music that is going on throughout the rest of the world but many people want to cling to what they know and what is special to them which is the Joik.
4. As talked about some in the last question Joik has become a music that is known in the Sammi community as their authentic music. This is because it is a style that is uniquely their own and a music with witch they have a deep history. Jones-Bamman says that “the genre should augment or even displace Joik performances . . . at the very least suggests an important shift within the culture. This means, in my opinion, that the importance upon keeping Joik has become exponentially less and there has become a greater emphasis on “turn[ing] to popular musical idioms as a means of stimulating discourse within their culture”. In other words there is a great movement toward leaving the “authentic” and searching for something new and something that will grab the attention of the outside world. Something they feel that other people can relate to.
6. As talked about in the previous questions I think the relationship between Joik and liminality is the balance between what is “authentic” vs. what is being changed and for the reasons in which these people have chosen to do so. The culture as a whole is in a liminal state trying to decide what parts of other cultures are they wanting to adopt into their own. As well as what and how much of their authentic Joik should remain unaltered.
As with the rest of the world, authenticity gets in the way. It seems that these pop artists who use Joiking with instruments are creating a new genre, not something that destroys the old. If music did not evolve, then it would die from boredom. One argument raised about joiking is that it is taken out of context. This may be so, but to acknowledge that it is not being used in the proper context is also to acknowledge that it is a remembrance of the context to which it initially served. Therefore, it serves its original purpose. Another argument is that because it is recorded and performed with instruments, its improvisatory nature has diminished. This may have been true for anything that has an experimental beginnings, but eventually it will work itself out into the contexts and new aesthetic situations that it serves.
#6. The Saami use joiking in their daily lives, this alone is acting to identify them. Due to the nature of joiking, the Saami are taking a very active role in their identification through the descriptions, “…of a person, an animal, and event or object in the environment” (pg.358). As with any other activity from any other culture, when it is taken out of the context with which it originates the activity looses some or all of it’s meaning, form, and function. The joik by Sverre Kjeldsberg, Samiid AEdnan, is a good example of a joik that was removed from it’s original context, the Saami village, and used to provide a different meaning, sympathizing with the Saami protest in Oslo, but retained it’s function, the joik described the events that took place in front of the parliament building.
#2. When Christianity began to take over, the use of joik in rituals and the shamans that performed them, were quickly phased out. Joiking was also limited to solitary performances and generally discouraged among the populous. This suppression gradually lead to a suppression of the entire culture, leaving the Saami very little to take pride in. The impact on culture created a nationalist idea, unifying Scandinavia more and leading the population to think of themselves as Scandinavians.
1) This details how music is used as a yardstick to measure change and tool for change both socially and culturally. Jones-Bamman uses specific examples of how music and culture has changed at relatively the same rate, by paralleling certain artists’ careers and the musical/cultural change they brought about. This article shows the strength and power of music as an art form and tool for measuring and bringing about social/cultural change.
2) Colonialism affected the Saami is several different ways. The appearance of Christian missionaries suppressed their traditional songs by way of suppressing the rituals/folk religions they were associated with. Culturally, colonialism did what it does to every culture it tries to subdue: it takes it away and leaves a certain ethnic group with little to no self-identity through any means of expression. “Post-colonially” very few of the Saami can speak their own language, and they are just now starting to get to a point where they will take pride in their heritage again.
3) I think appropriation in this case could be better stated as adaptation. Modern Saami singers “appropriated” the traditional form and cultural grounding in traditional joik singing. But they didn’t passively “appropriate” rather they adapted a traditional style to the purposes they needed it to fulfill, which is common for living vernacular traditions. This adaptation, what they adapted and why they felt the had to adapt it (or not), speaks plainly of the cultural priorities and pressures these musicians faced.
4) Before this rebirth of joiking, it was associated with the traditional culture of the Saami ethnic group. I think this article proves more than quite a few that authenticity is a construct more than anything else. Jonsson doesn’t use an authentic “musical vehicle” for his joik performance (ie different language, musical accompaniment, use of stereotypical derogatory ethnic language), he does use music to advocate traditional culture as well as to open the door for other joiking. Valkeappaa’s joiks are similar in that they have adapted, but he is slightly more culturally grounded (ie uses Saami language, use of traditional vocal styles though accompaniment was added). Basically these singers have done what all good musicians in a tradition do: they keep the music and the culture alive.
3. In this article, one way that joiking is used is to indicate a person’s ethnic, Saami, background. These singers “appropriated” the use of this technique by taking it and making use of it for a new purpose that wasn’t considered to be necessarily “authentic.”
4. As stated on p.354, joiking was condemned from Saami culture because its ritualistic use was “understood to be inherently ‘heathen,’ if not downright evil.” However, because joiking is unique to the Saami people, the Saami singers in this article flipped these associations around by creating a new cultural context for it within the realm of popular music.
6. Seeing liminalilty as a state of transition, I see joiking as a way to create cultural or ethnic identity within Saami culture. In turn, the use of this music in pop recording is the act of identifying ones self as a Saami “insider.”
3. The appropriation of items from other cultures is a large part of modern joik, as has been commented by others. I see many similarities between this situation with that of the Malaysians in Roseman's article "The Canned Sardine." In that case the Malaysians took foreign elements and incorporated them into their existing sacred rituals in order to mediate those outside infuence's acceptance into their community. In the same way, joik popular music is a mediation between traditional saami culture and the modern culture of the west.
4. There is another aspect of the authentic that arises from this article. We discussed the concept of "racial" playing in class last week, that is, that only someone of a particular race could play a music well. I see this manifested in this article, to an extent. On page 358, Jones-Bamman quotes an article by Jernsletten which says that only "when singer and audience have been raised in the same 'joik milieu'; that is a village or extended family in which joiking is integrated into daily activites" can correct interpretation of joik happen. This concern for the "authentic" joik is another aspect to this discussion.
3. I did not know what “appropriation” meant, and had to look it up. However, according to my computer’s dictionary, appropriate means “the act of taking something for one’s own use, typically without the owner’s permission.” It also adds below this description “often DEROGATORY the artistic practice or technique of reworking images from well known paintings, photographs, etc., in one’s own work.” I thought this was quite hilarious when I read it and immediately thought of Valkeapää’s manipulation of joik with instruments. He did not have permission from anyone, though I’m not sure who would have granted it, but took joiking and made his own style out of it. Not only from the Saami aspect did Valkeapää appropriate, but also from the U.S. artist’s by copying their song style. The definition makes the act sound horrible, almost law breaking, but in actuality this is an everyday part of life. Rather we intend to or not, everyone is influenced by outside sources and mimics these techniques. For instance, children first learn by appropriation. These musicians faced the issue of bringing alive a heritage and making it something to be proud of, and had to use new techniques to overcome this. The old heritage was associated with the old sounds and styles, and needed a new sound to capture the attention of the generation and to prove it is something worth holding onto and being proud of.
4. I would argue that authenticity is directly addressed in the article, but rather than being a point of conflict by scholars it was a point of conflict overcome by the musicians. More specifically first addressed by Valkeapää. Page 356 discusses Valkeapää’s issues he had to overcome in deciding how to incorporate joik as a popular music. He recognized the authentic aspects of joik, and then altered those to be appealing to and accepted by his audience. I think this can be heard well in the example on WebCT. The piece starts with the new instrumental addition and beats/rhythms, but halfway through the piece goes into a slightly acoustical almost authentic joiking. In this way Valkeapää is able to remain authentic and still appeal as a popular music.
7. The revitalization of joik went far beyond bringing back a musical style. The freedom involved with recreating that style in a way others would enjoy it and not be ashamed of it, and truly embrace their heritage helped spark interest for the Saami. The recordings went on to spark pride in the people, and helped the recording industry and others for about ten years. Yes, after those ten years past things dwindled and weren’t thriving as much, but one of the greatest things happened from this revival: a sense of Saami pride.
6. Joiking was used in this article to identify the minority within a population, as it was only practiced by those people. Furthermore, joiking was a way to indicate superiority of one group over another, as it was considered a marker of cultural inferiority. After its revival, joiking came to be viewed differently. First, with a sense of pride by those who were part of the minority group. Instead of having negative connotations, it became a positive marker asserting the individuality of a people and their right to maintain an independent sense of identity. Next, it was considered representative of the true or "authentic" Saami culture. Both of these ideas tie into my idea of liminality in relation to joiking; the liminality of joiking lies in its sense of being an activity that people can participate in to further a community identity, whether during daily life or onstage performance. Joiking allows people to create a sense of identity in a liminal state of multiple spaces and contexts where "otherness" = "Saami-ness."
4. I thought it was highly interesting that joiking came to represent the "authentic" in this case. I found this even more striking because it was a concept employed by the Saami themselves. Usually, "authentic" is an imposed term employed by people outside a community in relation to their conceptual understanding of that given community. However, the Saami almost clung to the idea of joiking as representative of the "authentic" Saami culture and people. I think this was primarily because for such a long time they struggled to find a way to preserve and maintain their culture in the face of outside oppression. Furthermore, when joiking was revived (in a public sense), it became the figurehead for a growing national movement. I was impressed by the ability of artists to overcome the imposition of such a loaded term, particularly those artists from inside the culture who were being pressured to perform joiks (is that even a word? it is now...) in a traditional manner, even to the detriment of the culture.
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