The Serankure and Music in Tlôkweng, Botswana

This study is the first monograph on Batswana music. The Batswana constitute the majority population of the Republic of Botswana, Africa. The regional and ethnographic focus is on the Batlôkwa, one of the smaller Tswana nations. The Batlôkwa live almost exclusively in the town of Tlôkweng close to the South African border. There are, however, considerable related groups on the South African side (in a town of the same name, for instance). The bowed monochord Serankure (also Segaba, Segankuru, Sefinjolo, Venturo, etc.) stands at the centre of this study. The methodology employed gains substantially from the author's ability to work with acoustical phenomena. This sensitivity brings to light for the first time the musical use of a certain physical effect between string and bow, which appears to be unique the world over and had previously been neglected or misunderstood. The musical analyses extend into the vocal music and (pipe) dances of the Batlôkwa. At the same time they form an in-depth study of the repertoire of three related musicians of the Bagammapula group of families. Full transcriptions of video recordings (which are presented as source material on the accompanying DVD video disc) provide the basis for the analysis of the musicians' techniques of variation. von Schöpf, Jürgen