Yorbá Btá Goes Global: Artists, Culture Brokers, and Fans

ISBN: 0226439550

Author: Klein, Debra L.

Condition: New

Responding to growing international interest in the Yorbá culture of southwestern Nigeria, practitioners of btá-a centuries-old drumming, dancing, and singing tradition-have recast themselves as traditional performers in a global market. As the Nigerian market for ritual btá has been declining, international opportunities for performance have grown. Debra L. Kleins lively ethnography explores this disjunction, revealing the world of btá artists and the global culture market that helps to sustain their art.Yorbá Btá Goes Global describes the dramatic changes and reinventions of traditional btá performance in recent years, showing how they are continually recreated, performed, and sold. Klein delves into the lives of Yorbá musicians, focusing on their strategic collaborations with artists, culture brokers, researchers, and entrepreneurs worldwide. And she explores how reinvigorated performing ensembles are beginning to parlay success on the world stage into increased power and status within Nigeria. Kleins study of the interwoven roles of innovation and tradition will interest scholars of African, global, and cultural studies, anthropology, and ethnomusicology alike.