Tug Rope Songs
The video clip below shows Louis Sarno talking about Bayaka tug-rope songs and is part of a series of video interviews with Louis that were recorded in April 2012.
Bayaka communities often enjoy tug-rope games and songs. A particular type of vine is selected and men, women and children arrange themselves on either end for a game of strength that can involve dozens of people. Tug rope games have a particular repertoire of songs, and it seems that it is the women who usually win.
Sound Galleries
Musical torchlit trails at the Pitt Rivers Museum
On Friday November 23rd 2012, the galleries of the Pitt Rivers Museum were plunged into evening darkness and bathed in Bayaka music and sound from the Central African Republic. Visitors were given torches to explore the galleries that were transformed into a rich forest soundscape with sung fables, snatches of laughter, beautiful variations on harps and flutes, and the stunning polyphonic singing of Bayaka women. Hidden surprises included mini projections from the rainforests and a visualiser designed by Nathaniel Mann, the PRM's Embedded Composer in Residence. The evening was filmed By Mike Day of Intrepid Cinema as part of the Reel to Real project, and complemented the Oxford City-wide Christmas Light Night organised by Oxford Inspires. A four hour playlist of Bayaka music from the PRM's sound collections, originally recorded by Louis Sarno, was curated on the evening by Nathaniel Mann and Dr Noel Lobley. The event was streamed online, and was watched live in the Central African Republic by Louis Sarno and some of the Bayaka community.
