Mbola - Aka Pygmies

The Aka Pygmies are one of three groups of Pygmies inhabiting the Central African Republic. Formerly living a completely nomadic lifestyle, they now only inhabit the equatorial forest during the rainy season, which is approximately half the year. As with all other traditional groups of Africa, music is intimately bound up with all aspects and activities of life.
Their complex polyphonic singing has been studied by various ethnomusicologists. Simha Arom has made historical field recordings of some of their repertoire. Mauro Campagnoli studied their musical instruments in depth, comparing them to neighbouring Pygmy groups such as the Baka Pygmies). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.