Music and the Ecology of Fear: Kanyeleng Women Performers and Ebola Prevention in The Gambia

This article examines the contributions of kanyeleng (female fertility society) performers to Ebola prevention in The Gambia, drawing on ethnographic research with performers and health workers, and offering analysis of performances. Contrasting with public-health programs that present African cultu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Africa today 2017-03, Vol.63 (3), p.29-42
Main Authors: McConnell, Bonnie B, Darboe, Buba
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African culture
AIDS
Analysis
Book publishing
Communication
Disease prevention
Ebola virus
Ecology
Emotional expression
Emotions
Epidemics
Ethnographic research
Ethnography
Fear
Fear & phobias
Females
Fertility
Happiness
Health promotion
Mobilization
Music
Musical performance
Musicians
Musicians & conductors
Performance (Arts)
Performing artists
Positive emotions
Prevention
Preventive medicine
Public health
Training
Women
Women in the book industry
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Summary:This article examines the contributions of kanyeleng (female fertility society) performers to Ebola prevention in The Gambia, drawing on ethnographic research with performers and health workers, and offering analysis of performances. Contrasting with public-health programs that present African culture as an obstacle, kanyeleng performers' participation in Ebola prevention in The Gambia provides a model for more inclusive social mobilization and communication, grounded in cultural strengths. Involving community-based musicians such as kanyeleng in communication programs represents an important alternative to top-down approaches, which may reinforce fear and suspicion. To help audiences understand a foreign and unfamiliar disease, kanyeleng performers promote positive emotions of love and happiness over anger and fear.
ISSN:0001-9887
1527-1978
DOI:10.2979/africatoday.63.3.03