Malaika Mutere
MALAIKA MUTERE
Motif: Kinetic Orality
Kinetic orality – ‘walking the talk’ or the inseparability of ‘dance’ (enhanced walking) and its ‘music’ (an enhanced form of speech/nommo). In the BaNtu universe of forces, music is understood, transcribed, and socially extended in the dance as the conversational exchange and community dynamics of Call-Response evolve. Kinetic Orality thus facilitates the integration of UbuNtu while transmuting and physically enhancing oral-aesthetic expression, as evident in performances of Black Popular Music…
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12 Comments on “Motif: Kinetic Orality”
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Malaika Mutere 
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I feel enhanced by this brief reading. And honestly will admit trying to encompass this any further right now is a little much for my noggin. Haha. I definitely realize the fact that I’m only smart enough to realize how little I know. Hopefully this idea serves me well… Neat stuff, for sure!
Thank you for your kind comment, Kelly. I’ve often hesitated explaining concepts from Africa’s oral traditions in writing because they shouldn’t be intellectualized, but danced. I was taught music theory from a western perspective where music and dance are separate “intellectual” categories (& academic departments), and it’s the norm to transcribe sound to the written page with the technology of notation. I came to realize that this represented an abstractional worldview, and I wanted to find a language that might return us to oral tradition’s organic ways of being. Hence my “oral-aesthetic perspective”…
Dear Malaika, I stumbled on your page in my search for the actual image of “Know thyself” in the Kemetic temples. Instead, I find your wonderful website! You have reminded me of a skill, I hope to learn and give to my children. Do you offer storytelling lessons?
Hi Natty. Thank you for your kind words. The ‘www’ is rather like rolling the dice & hoping for a satisfactory outcome 😊 My storytelling is about connecting the dots of my eventful journey in an organic & culturally-congruent way. This blog has been part of that exercise as I look forward to the next chapter…
Please notify me when there are any classes or information on this topic.
I appreciate your interest & inquiry, Natty. Kinetic Orality is actually one of several motifs I’ve unearthed in my research of African oral traditions. My students (music majors & others) have been very receptive to the Africa-centered narrative of Black Pop Music & cultural agency that these motifs facilitate. I am considering how best to respond to requests such as yours to make these lessons more widely available… Hopefully over the summer I’ll be able to provide a helpful update. Thanks for sharing your interest! M
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This information is so fulfilling. It’s the information African Americans want and need depth on so we end up endlessly researching and piecing our history together. It’s nice that you’re formally educated on the topic. You put your ideas together so easily and eloquently. I would enjoy your you tube. Hopefully in the future. Till then thank you for sharing
🙏🏾Thank you for your kind words & wisdom about the limitations of this particular platform, @Alita 😊