Why Suyá Sing: A Musical Anthropology of An Amazonian People

Abstract

The book  Why Sing the Kisêdjê - a Musical Anthropology of an Amazonian People by Anthony Seeger, was originally published in 1987. Seeger proposes a study of music and its role in the social process. Some questions pervade the text, namely: why do members of a particular group value singing so much? Why do the performances of the songs present certain structures, timbres and styles? Why do certain members of the community specifically sing such things, in such ways, to such an audience, in such a specific place and time? Thus, his ethnography is gradually circling these questions through a musical anthropology. The author deals with the total organization of kisêdjê sings production, from its relationship with other verbal genres to its integral association with social reproduction and economic production. Through the  Rat’s Ritual, the Kisêdjê participated in a creative act that transcended sounds - it was part of the social processes and institutions of their society.