[English version below]
Magali De Ruyter s’intéresse aux pratiques musicales des Pygmées Ba.bongo du Gabon. Elle cherche à mettre en évidence les modes d’interaction entre les différentes populations en présence (Ba.bongo, Mi.tsogho, Ma.sango, Akele) par l’intermédiaire du traitement réservé à la musique. Les Ba.bongo en effet s’avèrent être les « spécialistes de la musique » mais surtout de la musique des autres, ces voisins non–pygmées avec lesquels ils vivent en étroite relation depuis longtemps. Sa thèse s’attache à l’analyse du système formel de la musique d’une part, mais surtout à ses règles de jeu et à la manière dont on y déroge parfois. Elle s’interroge sur les modalités qui font des Ba.bongo « les meilleurs » en matière de musique (meilleurs musiciens, chanteurs, danseurs, animateurs, vecteurs de la musique) mais aussi les acteurs privilégiés des activités rituelles de leurs voisins. La thèse traite d’esthétique musicale, de modalités d’interprétation et de compétence musicale d’une part ; du rôle des Ba.bongo et de la représentation des Pygmées dans le dispositif rituel d’autre part ; des modalités et enjeux de la diffusion musicale (dynamisme, emprunt, circulation, perméabilité) enfin.
La pratique musicale est ici pensée comme partie prenante d’un ensemble plus vaste de relations et d’échanges (parenté, alliances, interdépendances économiques, rapports de pouvoir, mobilité des populations).
Thesis entitled: Music and Musicians in "Mobongo Country." Musical and Performaitve Foundations of Interethnic Dynamics in the Chailu Mountains (Gabon).
Magali De Ruyter studies the musical practices of the Ba.bongo Pygmees in Gabon. She aims to shed light on the modes of interaction between the different populations (Ba.bongo, Mi.tsogho, Ma.sango, Akele) via a processing intermediary reserved for music. THe Ba.bongo indeed appear to be "music specialists," but above all specialists in the music of others, these non-pygmee neighbours with whom they have lived closely with for years. Her thesis endeavours, on one hand, to analyse the formal system of music, but also to analyse its rules of play and the ways in which they are sometimes broken. She investiagtes the modalities that render the Ba.bongo the "best" in music (best musicians, singers, dancers, animators, music vectors), but also the favoured actors in the ritual activities of their neighbours. These thesis studies musical aesthetic and modalities of interpretation and musical competence; the Ba.bongo's role and the representation of Pygmees in ritual; modalities and stakes of musical dissemination (dyanamism, loan, circulation, permeability).
Musical practices is thought of here as a a part of a bigger group of relationships and exchanges (kinship, alliances, economic interdependancs, power dynamics, population mobility).
In this paper I examine the relationship between the Babɔngɔ Pygmies of the Chaillu mountains of south-central Gabon, Africa, and their Mitsɔgɔ/Masangu neighbours as it is expressed in rituals and musical performances. I argue that this is an ambivalent relationship that both subordinates yet still includes the Babɔngɔ within the social sphere of their non-Pygmy neighbours. Drawing attention to the Babɔngɔ perspective on this relationship, I highlight that ambivalence also results from the Babɔngɔ belonging to two normative systems. I suggest that the ritual context – both in its mythological and performative aspect – offers an overall and clear perception of the Pygmies/neighbours relationship in the Chaillu mountains. Lastly, a brief comparison is drawn between Babɔngɔ and their neighbours and the relations that occur among other Pygmy groups of Central Africa and their neighbours.
This article focuses on the ritual performance of relations between Babongo Pygmies and their neighbours in Gabon. Whereas the Babongo occupy socially subordinate positions vis-à-vis neighbouring populations, the Bwiti initiation ritual inverses this relational form by placing Pygmies at its mythical origin-point. The Babongo who perform at rituals embody the "Pygmy" as he is construed by their neighbours. However, the profound changes undergone by Bwiti over the 20th century have allowed for the emancipation of the Babongo. In becoming full-blown ritual actors, they enact Bwiti's origin myth for their own sake. Thus subaltern actors emerge as central participants on the ritual scene.