Power and Prestige Through Music in Tsongaland

Abstract

This paper outlines the role of communal music in the social institutions of the Tsonga of Mozambique and the Northern Transvaal, and how it serves to enhance the power and prestige of the chiefs controlling these institutions. It is shown how musical performances mirror social stratification, and how various musical practices such as the visiting team-dancing at neighboring courts reflects the occupational roles, rivalries, and social allegiances of performers and audiences. The acquirement of chiefly power and prestige hinges in some cases upon innovative musical behavior and musical diffusion, particularly of possession cults, which have a large following.