Communities of traditional African musics in Finland

Beskrivning

Despite the relatively small numbers of Africans living in Finland, a lively scene of African music and dance started to develop already in the late 1980s in Helsinki, and the activities have since spread out to other cities. Also, the diversity of African musics practiced in Finland has since increased along with the numbers of African immigrants as well as increased cultural exchanges between Finland and several African countries. When looking specifically at traditional musics from Africa, one might expect to find specific diaspora communities practicing and supporting the musical traditions of their countries of origin, but this is not necessarily the case. It seems that traditional African musics are more often practiced and transmitted in communities that include both African and Finnish professionals and enthusiasts. This observation destabilizes the conception of traditional music as cultural heritage passed on from generation to generation. In my presentation, I discuss some examples of such communities of traditional African musics in Finland and reflect on how their activities fit (or not) the established conceptions of traditional music as cultural heritage as expressed, for example, in the UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Period	9 feb. 2024
Evenemangstitel	Kansanmusiikintutkijoiden symposium: Kansanmusiikki, muistiorganisaatiot ja aineettoman kulttuuriperinnön käytännöt ja politiikat
Typ av evenemang	Konferens
Konferensnummer	VI
Plats	Helsinki, FinlandVisa på karta
Omfattning	Nationell