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Abstract

Within Luvale and related communities in northwestern Zambia, eastern Angola, and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, ancestral spirits grace the living world as makishi. These spirits play vital roles in mukanda male initiation schools, traditional ceremonies, and recreational entertainment. Though makishi can be distinguished by their stunning mask and full- body attire, dress alone does not make an ancestor. Instead, the spirits only achieve presence through the combination of performed action, embodied personality, vocal timbre, and physical appearance. Much of makishi action involves music and vocalizations that are collaboratively negotiated by a varied cast of event participants. This dissertation is dedicated to these culturally mediated soundscapes, the sounds of makishi. Recognizing that these auditory environments only come to life through the efforts of dedicated community members, I spotlight my primary teachers (and their respective groups) who are some of the most respected cultural custodians in the region: Kapalu Lizambo (of Lenga Navo), Josephine Sombo Muzala Chipango (of Likumbi Lya Mize Chibolya), and William Vunda (of Chota). With an interactive, multimedia website, I tell the stories of these performers and catalog the instruments and musical repertoire involved in makishi dances. I place added emphasis on the percussion ensemble and the decisions surrounding its use. Among these are a variety of timbral processes related to tuning, performance, and perception. Examination of these components as well as makishi vocal timbre help underline the central argument of this dissertation: timbre is integral to the performance and reception of makishi. I argue this thesis with the support of both qualitative and quantitative data gathered over years of ethnographic field research. I rely on emic terminology, principles of auditory scene analysis, interview excerpts, and my long experience as a participant-observer performing this tradition alongside my teachers. Through a combination of music analysis, narrative storytelling, statistical acoustic analysis, and a listener-centered approach to timbre evaluation, this dissertation aims to paint a picture of contemporary Luvale makishi performance practice in Zambia.