Project:

TRADITIONAL MUSIC AS A FEATURE OF THE IDENTITY OF THE RURAL WORLD

Júlio Silva, Music Producer, Image Journalist, Television Producer and researcher of traditional Mozambican music, here presents the project: Traditional music as a feature of the identity of the rural world.

In a time in which society is becoming more and more global, in what culture, economy and society are concerned and even in politics, we cannot afford to lose our cultural identity. It’s not a novelty that our Capital is still a place where a more ephemeral culture can be found. This culture most of the times, is not an equivalent to our true cultural roots. Those roots can still be found alive in secluded areas of our country.

In fact, it is in the rural areas that our roots are kept more vigorously. This is due to the fact that, the effects of globalization upon local identities, habits, traditions, ways of life ... have less been felt. There, orality; family relations and neighbourhood constitute some dominant features of traditional culture. Music, theatre, folklore, craftwork, and traditional games still fulfil a basic role and are the reference in the most outstanding moments of community life.

That is the reason why many sociologists defend that in matters of culture, few are the regions that can be considered disfavoured. We know that they are the deposit of histories and traditions built along generations of men and women. Thus we can affirm that this areas, in general have a rich inheritance and even an identity of its own. Therefore culture has the means and the finalities to develop itself in an integrated way. Again, this is due to the diversity of features and richness of the inheritance that we can find in the rural areas.

Culture has such an important role in the development of countries, that it made UNESCO pronounce itself about the subject, in its General Conference gathered in Paris, from 17^th October to 16^th November 1989, in their twenty-fifth session. There it was considered that traditional and popular culture are part of the universal inheritance of Humankind. It is a powerful mean to bring different people and social groups together and affirmation of its cultural identity. In the Conference it was highlighted its social, economical, cultural and political relevance, its role in the history of people.

Traditional music constitutes the demonstration of intellectual creativity, individually or collectively. That’s the reason why it deserves to benefit of a protection as the one given to intellectual productions. Such protection of traditional and popular culture reveals to be essential, as a mean that allows developing, perpetuating and spreading this inheritance, in the country and abroad without going against the interests of the ones involved.

Traditional music, novels set to music and folklore in its noblest sense assumes special importance and great value in community development.

When referring to music, we also refer to traditional musical instruments. Recovering them is equally to value the work force, craftwork and the sonorities of a time and space that technological progress can never destroy.

However in a short term, one of our biggest wealth, the music and traditional dance, can disappear from our everyday experiences, in favour of a new musical culture whose identity is indeterminate in space and content. Many older musicians have questioned me about this real problem, about which would be essential to analyze the better strategy to include music, its instruments and traditional dances in school syllabus. It would also be important to investigate how school can revitalize cultural popular traditions.

This project which will be presented in several DVDs has as main goals: